An Minseok: "The Right to Education for the Disabled Is a Right, Not Charity... The 40 Billion Won Employment Levy Must Not Be Neglected"

An Minseok, Preliminary Candidate for Gyeonggi Superintendent

Holds Consecutive Meetings with Three Disability Organizations

"Complete Restructuring of Disability Policy from the Perspective of the 'Right to Education,' Not 'Welfare'"

An Minseok, a preliminary candidate for Gyeonggi Provincial Superintendent of Education, has expressed his intention to completely restructure disability policy from the perspective of the "right to education" rather than "welfare."

Candidate Minseok Ahn is taking a commemorative photo after holding consecutive meetings on the 27th at the campaign office in Paldal-gu, Suwon, with three disability-related organizations: the Korea Disabled Informatization Association, the Council of Standard Workplaces for the Disabled, and the Gyeonggi Severe Multiple Brain Lesion Disabled Parents' Association. Photo by Candidate Minseok Ahn

On the 27th, candidate An held consecutive meetings at his campaign office in Paldal-gu, Suwon, with three disability-related organizations: the Association for the Informatization of the Disabled, the Council of Standard Workplaces for the Disabled, and the Parents' Association of Severely and Multiply Disabled in Gyeonggi Province. He listened to the structural problems facing special education in the field.

The organizations pointed out that in the special education field, legal staffing standards are not being met and overcrowded classes persist. A representative of the parents' association lamented, "For students with severe and multiple disabilities, even participating in class is difficult, yet the staffing standards do not reflect reality."

The issue of medical support within schools was also raised.

One attendee said, "Because medical support at school is limited, parents are repeatedly forced to respond directly," adding, "The scope of medical support must be improved to reflect reality so that education and safety are not separated."

Additionally, opinions were voiced that, while systems such as access to information, expansion of vocational competency education for students with disabilities, and improvement of the employment structure for people with disabilities are in place, they are not functioning adequately in practice. A representative from the Council of Standard Workplaces noted, "Even if systems exist, change is difficult without the willingness to implement them."

Candidate An stated, "We must move away from the outdated, charitable view of special education and instead recognize it as a rightful educational opportunity. If elected Superintendent of Education for Gyeonggi Province, I will ensure that educational administration responds to the realities of special education for people with disabilities."

Candidate An also pointed out that the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education failed to meet the mandatory employment rate for people with disabilities last year, resulting in disability employment levies of over 40 billion won. He criticized this as a result of Superintendent Lim Taehee's incompetence and complacent, convenience-driven administration, and pledged to actively utilize the linked employment system through the purchase of goods from standard workplaces for the disabled, in order to reduce these levies and redirect the budget to the educational field.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.