NHRCK Chairperson Visits Workplace of Persons with Severe Disabilities
– The Chairperson visits workplaces providing rights-based jobs tailored to persons with severe disabilities and listens to the voices of persons with disabilities and related parties –
□ At 10 a.m. on 23 April, Ahn Chang-ho, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (hereinafter referred to as the NHRCK), visited the J.L. Han Dream Art Troupe (located in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province) to meet with workers with disabilities, their families, and officials from the operating organisation to hear their voices.
□ The project to provide rights-based jobs tailored to persons with severe disabilities (hereinafter referred to as ‘rights-based public jobs’) aims to develop employment opportunities for persons with severe disabilities who face challenges in accessing the labor market, thereby guaranteeing their right to work and promoting social participation.
□ The Rights-Centred Customised Employment Programme for Persons with Severe Disabilities (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Rights-Centred Public Employment Programme’) is a public employment programme that develops tailored jobs for persons with severe disabilities who have difficulty securing economic opportunities, thereby ensuring their right to work and supporting their social inclusion. The programme focuses on three main areas: rights advocacy, cultural arts, and disability awareness-raising.
□ According to the 2024 first-half survey on the economic activity status of persons with disabilities published by the Employment Development Institute of the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the labor force participation rate for persons with severe disabilities was approximately 25.7%, compared to 51.2% for persons with mild disabilities. This indicates that persons with severe disabilities continue to face substantial barriers to entering the labor market. In 2022, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) noted the low employment rate and marginalisation of persons with severe disabilities in the labor market, and recommended expanding inclusive, publicly supported employment and establishing a comprehensive support system. In this context, rights-based public employment programmes provide a new model for promoting labor market participation among persons with severe disabilities and are of significant importance.
□ During a meeting with members of the J.L. Han Dream Art Troupe, the Chairperson remarked, “Through art, they are expressing their potential and working proudly—I saw a new paradigm of labor.” The Chairperson also expressed hope that “rights-based, customised employment opportunities for persons with severe disabilities will continue to expand.”
□ In 2022, the NHRCK published the Written Submission for Consideration of the Combined Second and Third Periodic Report of the Republic of Korea of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In the submission, the NHRCK recommended that the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities advise the Korean government to establish specific institutional improvements, such as a supplementary wage system, to ensure that persons with severe disabilities receive fair and adequate compensation.
