All citizens need to get involved in solving mobility issues of the disabled, says Archbishop Peter Soon-taek Chung of Seoul
Archbishop Peter Soon-taek Chung of Seoul (third from left, standing) and delegates of the Eyes of the Weak group pose for a commemorative photo at the Seoul archbishop’s residence in South Korea on Feb. 24. (Photo: news.catholic.or.kr)
A South Korean Catholic bishop has emphasized the need to bring about awareness among people about mobility issues faced by disabled people in the country.
Archbishop Peter Soon-taek Chung of Seoul made the remarks during a meeting with delegates of a National Assembly member’s research group, Eyes of the Weak, at the Seoul Bishop’s house on Feb. 24, the Good News website reported.
The research group had selected the right to mobility for the disabled as one of the agendas for focus this year and had initiated meetings with the religious community heads starting with Seoul archdiocese.
Archbishop Chung pointed out that all citizens need to get involved in solving the mobility issues of the disabled.
“Expanding facilities for the disabled and realizing the right to free movement is not just for the disabled. I think it is important to have a clear perception that this path is for all citizens,” the prelate said.
Archbishop Chung called for better consensus among civic groups and members of the society and lamented the fact “that a certain cry for the past 20 years has not resonated.”
“Let us find a way to find consensus together rather than the struggle between the disabled and the non-disabled,” the prelate said.
Representative Kim Min-seok, senior researcher of Eyes of the Weak, Democratic Party lawmakers Kang Deuk-gu and Ko Min-jung, and Justice Party lawmaker Kang Eun-mi were present at the meeting.
They were accompanied by Park Gyeong-seok and Kwon Dal-joo, co-representatives of the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities group.
The Eyes of the Weak group had put forward a five-point proposal to resolve mobility issues faced by the disabled.
One of the group’s key demands was to ensure that the government meets the legally guaranteed number of special means of transportation by 2024.
The proposal also included the introduction of buses, intercity buses, call taxis equipped with wheelchair lifts, replacing regular route buses with low-floor buses, and introducing wide-area buses early.
South Korea has passed various anti-discriminatory laws to support and assist people with disabilities in the country.
The Anti-Discrimination against and Remedies for Persons with Disabilities Act was enacted on April 10, 2007, and was intended “to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in all aspects of life.”
Article 4 of the act specifically prohibits both explicit discrimination against people with disabilities and “disability-blind standards that cause the disabled persons to be unfairly treated without justifiable grounds, despite the absence of explicitly unfavorable treatment.”
Employers and facilities across the nation are required to provide suitable means of access for the disabled. They are also not allowed to “restrict, exclude, separate, or reject persons with disabilities.”
Disability in Korea is viewed by families as detrimental to their social standing and they try to hide the disabled person from the social sphere, says Disability:IN, a non-profit organization.
Traditionally, Koreans believe that having disabilities is the result of the geomantic system of topography used in choosing auspicious sites for graves and houses, sins committed in a previous existence, the fault of an ancestor, or a wicked ghost.
According to the National Disability Survey of 2016, South Korea had more than 2.6 million people with disabilities and about 50 percent suffered from physical disabilities.
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