Kim Dongyeon Pledges to Establish Presidential Committee on Persons with Disabilities

"Establishing a Control Tower with Coordinating Authority"
"The President Should Personally Oversee Disability Policy"

Kim Dongyeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province and a candidate in the Democratic Party presidential primary, announced a pledge on April 20, Disability Day, stating, "The state must faithfully fulfill its role so that people with disabilities can live with dignity." He pledged to establish a Presidential Committee on Persons with Disabilities, directly under the president.

Kim Dongyeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province and a presidential candidate in the Democratic Party primary, is speaking at the pledge ceremony for fair elections held at the National Assembly on the 16th. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

In a press release distributed on the same day, Kim said, "The Disability Policy Coordination Committee under the Prime Minister has so far revealed a lack of executive power. Its limitations in inter-ministerial coordination have also been exposed," he stated. "We must overcome these issues and ensure consistency in policy."

He explained, "A practical control tower with coordinating authority should be established directly under the president, and the president should personally oversee disability policy."

As part of this initiative, Kim proposed the following policies: doubling the disability pension (from an average of 500,000 won to 1 million won) and gradually expanding the disability pension; raising the budget for disability policies to the OECD average level; and restructuring the current disability budget, which is focused on in-kind support, to be centered on cash assistance.