1. Deinstitutionalization Activists Climbed up to the Bell Tower of a Catholic Church
From 18 April to 2 May, three deinstitutionalization activists, including a survivor of institutionalization, stayed on top of the bell tower of Hyehwa-dong Cathedral in Seoul.
Their action was in protest of the Korean Catholic Church’s persistent opposition to deinstitutionalization; since the passage of the “Act on Independent Living in Local Community and Residential Transition Support for Persons With Disabilities” by the National Assembly, the Korean Catholic Church has actively campaigned for its repeal; the Korean Catholic Church currently operates 175 residential institutions for persons with disabilities; in the Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conferences, statements that distort and deny deinstitutionalization rights protected by UN CRPD are casually made.
For those 15 days, the activists on top of the bell tower, as well as hundreds of citizens who stayed in front of the Church in solidarity each day, demanded a change in the Korean Catholic Church's stance on deinstitutionalisation along with a meeting with the chairperson of the Social Welfare Council of the Korean Catholic Bishops' Conference.
Upon the Minister of Health and Welfare and the Archbishop of Seoul’s agreement to meet with disability rights organizations(SADD and the National Coalition of Survivors of Institutionalisation), the activists descended the tower on 2 May. And the meetings took place the following week.
During the meetings, the Archbishop of Seoul, Chung Soon-taick, stated that the Korean Catholic Church and disability rights groups share the same goal “in principle.” He added, “We do not oppose the concept of deinstitutionalisation and independent living. We are just worrying about persons with ‘severe disabilities’ and those without family.” Archbishop Chung said that he would be a bridge between disability rights groups and the Social Welfare Council of the Korean Catholic Church, which has been the main opponent of deinstitutionalisation.(https://www.catholicsabah.com/seoul-bishop-meets-disability-advocates-cites-need-for-safeguards-in-reforms/)
Minister Cho Kyu-hong affirmed that the Ministry would implement the Deinstitutionalisation Roadmap, based on the “Disability Independence Support Act,” which had passed the National Assembly but faced strong opposition from anti-deinstitutionalisation groups, including the Korean Catholic Church. Let’s see if the promise would be upheld.
ROK-Deinstitutionalisation Activists climbed up to the bell tower |
2. Activists Unite to Demand the True Abolition of Disability Grading System
“We are not numbers. Look at our lives, not our scores on the disability assessment charts!”
Since the early 2000s, the struggle for the right to access Personal Assistance Services(PAS) has been one of the main focus points in the Korean disability movement. Even after the implementation of the PAS system by the government, the disability severity assessments based on the disability grading system has stopped the PWD from getting enough service hours.
Throughout decades, the community has witnessed dozens of deaths that would have been preventable with enough PAS provision. Colleagues such as Song Gook-hyun, Kim Ju-young passed away in fire because they could not escpape without any assistance.
We have since demanded the South Korean government to abolish the disability grading system and to center the needs of each PWD in the process of determining PA service hours. With such demands, in 2012, the Korean disability community organized a long-term sit-in protest in Gwanghwamoon station, and ended it after 5 years, in 2017, after the government promised the abolishment of the disability grading system.
However, the disability grading system was merely renewed, not abolished. Still, PWD in South Korea are not getting enough service hours. Instead of asking the service hours each person needs, the assessors require them to prove how incompetent and damaged their bodies are. Over the years, many PWD activists testified what a degrading and terrifying experience each assessment process has been, and how the amount of the service hours provided have never been enough.
Every July 1, the Korean disability communities march together to demand the true abolishment of the disability grading system. In 2025, SADD and the Korean disability communities organized a fasting demonstration and started another long-term sit-in protest in the office of National Pension Service, an institution that carries out the PAS assessments.
https://sadd.or.kr/baksalhttps://mohw.go.kr/board.es?mid=a20401000000&bid=0032&tag=&act=view&list_no=350573 |
3. The Struggle to Reinstate the Rights-Based Public Jobs (for the Severely Disabled) in Seoul Continues
On the first day of 2024, in Seoul, 400 workers were fired from the Rights-Based Public Jobs (for the Severely Disabled). The Rights-Based Public Jobs are specifically designed to employ persons with the most severe disabilities, who have historically been excluded from the conventional labor market. Through their work in Rights-based Public Jobs, severely disabled workers create and advance the rights of persons with disabilities. The job encompasses advocacy, culture and arts, and disability awareness-raising.
Even though, back in 2020, Seoul was the first city to hire workers for the Rights-Based Public Jobs, on the first day of 2024, the Seoul City Government fired all 400 workers overnight for participating in disability rights protests, not acknowledging that the protests were a part of their campaign to produce and advocate disability rights.
Ever since then, the struggle to reinstate the Rights-Based Public Jobs has never stopped. Alongside 400 workers, the disability organizations such as SADD(Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination) and ARPJD(The Association of Rights-based Public Jobs for the Disabled) keep demanding the Seoul City Government to rehire all 400 workers. Recently, three activists were arrested for dropping a banner from the top of Young Chu gate of Gyeongbok palace, demanding the expansion of the Rights-Based Public Jobs.
Rights-Based Public Jobs Slogans and ManifestoEnglish Instagram post about the ongoing struggle : https://www.instagram.com/p/DE3s3mXyKHI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MXRvYnRwNDJ3enNlMA==
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2025년 KDF 번역프로젝트 - 해외 자료 모음.zip(3) : “T4 작전” ...
