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The government plans to mandate that companies of a certain size form representative bodies for disabled workers and that companies and schools pay a fine of up to W50 million if they do not set up convenient facilities for the disabled. The government is also expected to establish a ˇ°Committee for Preventing Discrimination Against the People with Disabilityˇ± under the direct control of the president that will be in charge of investigating into and coordination of countermeasures against discrimination against the people with disability.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced Monday that it has drawn up a tentative plan for a disabled discrimination act containing the above, and will hold a hearing in the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs on Tuesday with related groups and academic and legal circles participating.
According to the plan, business owners have to give a special paid holiday of around one week to physically challenged workers, besides existing holidays. Companies with more than 300 workers have to establish a representative body that will deal with discrimination against physically challenged workers. In addition, schools must not reject applications and admissions of disabled students on the ground that they do not have educational facilities for them.
The plan also includes that those who obstruct complaint petitions from the disabled will be sentenced to up to a three year prison term or W10 million fine, and that those who are accused of not complying with the correction orders of the Committee for Preventing Disabled Discrimination will be sentenced to a maximum three year prison term and fined up to W50 million.
(Kang Hoon, nukus@chosun.com )
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