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ACRC recommended expanding and improving administrative services for people with disabilities
- Date2017-10-17
- Hit743
ACRC recommended expanding and improving administrative services for people with disabilities
English certificate for people with disabilities and IT assistive device application for minors with disabilities to be available online; automobile inspection fee discount process to be improved
October 17, 2017
Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission
The Republic of Korea
The online issuance of certificates for people with disabilities will be available in English, and minors with disabilities will soon be able to apply for IT assistive devices online.
In addition, when paying for automobile inspections, people with disabilities will be able to receive immediate exemptions, thus eliminating inconveniences in claiming exempted amounts retrospectively.
The ACRC has come up with measures for resolving inconveniences in the daily lives of people with disabilities such as those mentioned above, and has sent recommendations to the relevant organizations, including the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), the National Information Society Agency (NIA), and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority (TS).
Unlike Korean certificates, which are available online, in order to obtain an English language version of a certificate for a person with a disability - by which people with disabilities can receive conveniences abroad - the disabled person or a family member must visit a community service center.
In addition, if a certificate is lost or damaged while the holder is abroad, it cannot be reissued in that country. This has resulted in continuous civil complaints and requests for improvement of the system.
| * The English version of the certificate for people with disabilities can be used to receive conveniences during immigration inspections, special discounts, or preferential care in other countries. * Currently, the Korean version of the certificate for people with disabilities; the English version of a copy of resident registration and abstract; and the English version of the certificate for a driver’s license can be issued at Minwon24. |
Regarding this issue, the ACRC has recommended that the MOHW and Ministry of Interior and Safety (MOIS) revise the relevant regulations and improve services so that an English version of the certificate for people with disabilities can be issued online at the government’s civil petition portal site, Minwon24(http://www.minwon.go.kr).
Furthermore, the ACRC believes that the current restrictions on online applications for IT assistive devices imposed exclusively on minors hinder that group’s access to information. The ACRC has recommended that the NIA revise the relevant regulations so that minors with disabilities can also apply for devices via the Internet.
| * Adults with disabilities can apply for IT assistive devices via Internet, mail, or in person, but minors with disabilities can only apply by mail or in person. |
Moreover, there have been a series of complaints regarding the convenience and administrative efficiency of the automobile inspection process, whereby socially vulnerable people - including those with disabilities - must first pay for the inspection in total, and are later refunded the exempted amount.
| * National basic livelihood recipients (100%), people with severe disabilities (50%), people with mild disabilities (30%), men of national merit (80%; automobiles with disability license plates), families of car accident victims (80%), single parent families (80%) |
In response, the ACRC has recommended that the TS improve convenience by allowing individuals to pay inspection fees after on-site exemptions.
An ACRC official explained, “The recent institutional improvements are being promoted after having collected citizens’ opinions through e-People and other channels. The ACRC will do its best to listen to citizens’ voices more closely and revise any administrative systems that cause inconvenience to citizens.”
| <IT assistive device project>
* Grounds: The Framework Act on National Information, Article 34 (Support of Information Communications Products) * IT assistive devices: Equipment, parts or systems of devices, or software used to improve, supplement, or advance physical or cognitive functions of people with disabilities * Devices subject to the Act: 98 products including reading enlargers, special keyboards and mouse devices, touch monitors, and braille devices * Financial support: 80% of the price of IT assistive devices suitable for disability (Additional 50% of the user share is provided to people with disabilities who are national basic livelihood recipients or are from lower income families.) * Process: 2015: 4,000 units (KRW 3.9 billion) à 2016: 4,000 units (KRW 3.9 billion) à 2017: 3,200 units (KRW 3.1 billion) |
