o NHRCK recommended to the Speaker of the National Assembly to devise and implement government-wide measures to abolish or ease 27 provisions on disqualification of people with mental disabilities regarding acquisition of license or qualification. In addition, it recommended to the Minister of Health and Welfare to abolish the provision that disqualifies people with mental disabilities to become a social worker under the Social Welfare Service Act went into effect in April.
o Currently, 28 acts prescribes mental disabilities as grounds for disqualification. Among them, 6 legislations including the Mother and Child Health Act completely prohibit acquisition of qualification by people with mental disabilities.
o NHRCK concluded that such restriction violates the equal right and freedom of occupation under the Constitution and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
o Such provisions assume that people with mental disabilities are potentially dangerous and incompetent. However, there is no conclusive evidence that mental illness imposes incompetency and potential danger. In addition, it is problematic that a legislation limits people with mental disabilities without proper process for verification since vocational suitability and whether they are dangerous or not depends of seriousness of the disabilities and progress in treatment.
o Hence, NHRCK concluded that the provision on definition of people with mental illness under the Mental Health Welfare Act has to be more objective to define people with mental illness as people whose performance of duty is difficult due to physical and mental difficulties and the standards and process of verification has to be explicitly prescribed.
o NHRCK also emphasized that it is unreasonable to fundamentally limit the opportunity for social integration under the law and not consider mental illness as a disease to be cured amidst increasing and diverse mental illness.
