Facilities for the Disabled Still Inadequate at Gyeonggi Administrative Welfare Centers

Facilities for the disabled within administrative welfare centers in the Gyeonggi region are still found to be lacking.

The Gyeonggi Province Residents' Human Rights Monitoring Group announced on the 6th that, from May to the end of August, it conducted on-site inspections at 147 administrative welfare centers in the province and identified numerous shortcomings, such as the inappropriate placement of parking spaces designated for the disabled.

The Gyeonggi Province Residents' Human Rights Monitoring Group was established under Article 10 of the 'Gyeonggi Province Ordinance on the Guarantee and Promotion of Human Rights' to increase residents' participation in human rights protection and to reflect their opinions in policy.

Following last year's 'On-site Monitoring of Bus Stop Facility Use and Accessibility,' this year, 36 members selected through a public recruitment process conducted monitoring on the use and accessibility of administrative welfare centers in the province.

As a result of the evaluation, parking spaces designated for the disabled were installed at 140 out of 147 centers, but only 111 of them were located near entrances or facilities equipped with elevators for the disabled.

The Gyeonggi Province Residents' Human Rights Monitoring Group is inspecting the standards of facilities for the disabled within the Administrative Welfare Center. Provided by Gyeonggi Province

Additionally, ramps at entrances were present at only 108 out of 147 centers, and among these, only 85 centers ensured a usable width of at least 1.2 meters for wheelchairs. As for restrooms, only 92 centers had braille signs distinguishing gender and other information.

In particular, in civil service offices, the lower depth of the reception desk must be at least 0.45 meters to accommodate knees and wheelchair footrests, but only 44 centers met this standard. Furthermore, in accordance with the 'Enforcement Regulations of the Act on Convenience Promotion for Persons with Disabilities, the Elderly, and Pregnant Women,' only 40 centers provided required items such as braille guidebooks, magnifiers with a magnification of eight times or more, and hearing aids in their civil service offices.

Choi Hyunjung, Human Rights Officer of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "Gyeonggi Province is the only region where residents directly collect opinions on local human rights issues and conduct on-site inspections from their own perspective to create a human rights-friendly community." She added, "We expect these activities to serve as a cornerstone for identifying shortcomings in human rights protection and developing improvement measures for human rights violations."