Pledged to Use Saved Budget to Expand Welfare for People with Disabilities
As a revised ordinance proposing a reduction in the proportion of disabled parking spaces in Changwon City-affiliated parking lots was introduced to the Changwon Special City Council in Gyeongnam, disability organizations have voiced opposition, prompting the council member who sponsored the ordinance to offer an explanation.
On January 16, Kim Youngrok, a member of the People Power Party and the Changwon City Council, held a press conference at the City Hall Press Center, stating, "Changwon has suffered from chronic parking shortages for over 10 years," and explained the reasoning behind the proposal.
Assemblyman Kim said, "Currently, it costs as much as 43 million won to create a single parking space in Changwon," adding, "By flexibly adjusting the proportion of disabled parking spaces in city-affiliated parking lots by just 1 percent through this ordinance revision, we will be able to secure more than 5,400 additional general parking spaces across the city."
He further emphasized, "If you convert these more than 5,400 parking spaces into the cost of new construction, it amounts to an astronomical value of 230 billion won."
Kim Youngrok, a member of the Changwon Special City Council in Gyeongnam, is explaining the revised ordinance related to the reduction of disabled parking spaces in the Changwon City-affiliated parking lot. Photo by Lee Seryung
He explained, "Currently, there are 11,323 vehicles registered in Changwon that are eligible to use disabled parking spaces. However, there are far more vehicles that have received parking permits but are not eligible to park, while the number of designated disabled parking spaces exceeds 22,000."
He continued, "Even if we reduce the proportion by 1 percent, there will still be more disabled parking spaces than the number of registered vehicles eligible to use them," and added, "The 5,400 spaces to be secured through this flexible 1 percent adjustment will be a much-needed relief for Changwon's chronic parking stress."
Assemblyman Kim pledged, "The 230 billion won in budget savings will be allocated to real welfare for people with disabilities, such as expanding free meal centers for the disabled, and I promise to ensure that it is used to strengthen practical welfare for people with disabilities."
He also added, "Since the ordinance stipulates a minimum of 3 percent, areas where disabled parking spaces are frequently needed and heavily used can be flexibly adjusted. By returning 5,400 parking spaces to citizens and efficiently utilizing the budget value of 230 billion won, we will create a Changwon where people with and without disabilities can be happy together."
Previously, Assemblyman Kim, along with 10 other People Power Party council members, proposed a partial amendment to the "Changwon City Parking Lot Installation and Management Ordinance."
This ordinance revision adjusts the proportion of disabled parking spaces in Changwon City-affiliated parking lots from the current "4 percent" to "at least 3 percent."
The proposal was made to help alleviate Changwon's chronic parking shortage by adjusting the proportion of disabled parking spaces in city-affiliated parking lots.
In response, the Changwon Disabled Rights Assurance Group, a coalition of five disability organizations from the Masan and Changwon areas, held a press conference at the City Hall Press Center on January 15, condemning the ordinance revision and calling for its withdrawal.
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