[Jeonjangyeon Briefing] Jeonjangyeon will not ride the subway to work, but...
Following his defeat in the Gangseo District Mayoral election, President Yoon Seok-yeol met with Chairman Kim Han-gil and members of the National Unification Committee on the 17th and stated, "I am confident that the activities and policy recommendations of our National Unification Committee have provided me with many insights. However, I and the cabinet will carefully reflect on how these recommendations have translated into the implementation of this policy."
The National Unification Committee, held on January 30, 2023, held a forum titled "Freedom of Movement for All" (Policy Proposals from the Special Committee on Improving Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities), and among the five priorities presented, the first was "improving special transportation."
The National Unification Committee identified the reasons for the failure to guarantee "freedom of movement for all" as "provider-centered," "limited options," "discrimination and prejudice," and the resulting "disconnections." This "disconnection" refers to the structural and serious inequality and discrimination that has left people with disabilities unable to move, unable to receive education, excluded from the workforce, and confined to prison-like residential facilities for the disabled.
_______________________________________________
The Korean Federation of Trade Unions demands that Chairman Kim Han-gil begin President Yoon Seok-yeol's reflection by implementing improvements to special transportation as part of his "Freedom of Movement for All" policy proposal.
The biggest challenges in using special transportation are "long wait times" and "support for inter-regional and wide-area travel."
Support for inter-regional and wide-area travel has been amended as a mandatory provision in the Act on the Disabled. Although the enforcement ordinance should be revised to implement this starting July 19th of this year, no local government is properly implementing this. Essential to implementing support for special transportation wait times and inter-regional travel is the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's guarantee of the labor costs of two drivers per special transportation vehicle (16 hours of daily operation). However, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, pressured by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, failed to secure the budget.
President Yoon Seok-yeol mentioned "reflection" and stated that he would "look back and reflect on how the integration committee's policies translated into action." Therefore, the minimum level of the policy proposal for freedom of movement for all should be guaranteed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) budget of 335 billion won to support the labor costs of two drivers per special transportation vehicle (guaranteeing 16 hours of operation per vehicle).
President Yoon Seok-yeol must immediately reflect the 335 billion won budget for special transportation proposed by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) in 2024. Incorporating the budget for special transportation is the bare minimum of reflection. He must respond with a budget that guarantees the minimum mobility rights of people with disabilities. _______________________________________________
When the Yoon Seok-yeol administration submitted the 2024 budget to the National Assembly, it joined forces with the People Power Party to display banners on the streets proclaiming, "The state takes responsibility for and protects people with severe disabilities." Behind the scenes, it scrapped 2.4 billion won in funding for the Ministry of Employment and Labor's Regional Customized Job Creation Project for People with Severe Disabilities (Peer Supporter Project). They cited poor project performance and overlapping with the Ministry of Health and Welfare's disability employment program as justifications.
We urge the Ministry of Employment and Labor to stop making excuses, stop spreading fake news with banners, and instead demonstrate that it will repent and act by creating proper jobs for people with severe disabilities.
_______________________________________________
Filming Documentary
Subtitles and Editing by Min A-young