Welfare for the Disabled
The number of people registered as having a disability totaled 1.65 million as of March 2005.
The Korean government, strengthening welfare policies for the disabled, has
been waging campaigns to raise people's awareness and eliminate social prejudice
towards people with disabilities. Moreover, the government has been providing
rehabilitation services so that the disabled can build self-supporting abilities.
Incidence of disability can be reduced by strengthening maternal and child health
care systems, and by early detection and treatment of disabilities. The government
obligates all babies to receive medical examination for inborn metabolic disorders
within three days after birth.
To provide better vocational, medical and social rehabilitation for people with
severe disabilities, the government has increased the number of welfare institutions.
And the government has come up with financial support plans to reduce financial
burdens the disabled and their families have to shoulder. The government provides
110,000 persons with disability allowances and 119,000 with medical aid and
medical expenses annually. Supporting plans also include loans for self-support,
education aid, appliances aid and non-budgetary measures such as tax deduction
and public facilities fee discounts.
Publicly-funded institutions were also built to enable people with disabilities
to have self-supporting capabilities. These institutions provide rehabilitation
counseling, therapy, training, social surveys and general rehabilitation services.
There are about 424 such publicly-funded institutions nationwide. The government
has been continuously eliminating social and physical barriers for the disabled.
The Law on the Installation of Convenience Facilities for the Disabled was enacted
in April 1997 to install barrier-free facilities on roads, in parks, and at
public buildings and facilities. The government provides financial and technological
benefits and tax breaks to those in the private sector who have installed facilities
for the disabled.
The law obligates companies with 300 employees or more to recruit people with
disabilities for at least 2 percent of its total workforce. The government also
established public vocational training centers for the disabled. The National
Rehabilitation Medical Center was built to offer specialized medical rehabilitation
treatment for the disabled. Since its establishment in October 1986, the center
provided counseling, medical rehabilitation, job-training, and research.
The government recognized sports as one form of social rehabilitation. Under
such recognition, the Korean government has been taking part in the Paralympic
Games since 1968. The Paralympic Games was held in Korea in 1988.
Welfare for the Aged
The number of persons aged 65 years and over increased from 1,456,000, 3.8 percent
of total population, in 1980 to 3,395,000, 7.2 percent in 2000. It rose to 4,380.000 in Nov. 2005, accounting for 9.1% of total population. It is expected
to reach 7,527,084, 14.3 percent of the total population by 2,019, and Korea
will need various senior supporting programs such as income maintenance programs
for seniors, policies that foster productive aging, and care of chronic diseases.
In order to encourage social respect for the aged, the government has rewarded
filial sons and daughters-in-law. Since 1980, the government has provided free
subway tickets and bus fares, free admissions into public museums and parks
for those over 65.
Welfare Services for the Aged: Service facilities for the aged are categorized
into residential homes, nursing homes and other health care institutions for
the seniors with or without severe disabilities. Some of these facilities are
free, and others are low-priced or regular priced. Only seniors in the low-income
bracket are allowed into free or low-priced facilities. The need for non-residential
services, such as home help service, meal service, bathing service, companion
service, etc. has dramatically increased. These services are available for free
for the seniors under Public Assistance programs, and at reasonable costs for
seniors in other income brackets.
Senile Dementia and Physical Examination: An aging society requires special
schemes for controlling chronic degenerative and neurological diseases of the
elderly. Currently, 8.3 percent of seniors aged 65 or more is suffering from
senile dementia or Alzheimer's disease. The government has therefore started
the 10-year Plan for Senile Dementia, which includes building nursing facilities,
hospital and research institutions for dementia, and implementing pilot projects
of remote-clinics. Since 1983, the Korean government has been providing free
health check-ups and health education to seniors in the low-income bracket to
improve their health conditions.
Establishing Income Maintenance Policies for the Elderly: Employment rate of
those aged 60 and over stood at 28.3 percent in 1980, 35.6 percent in 1990 and
40.0 percent in 2001, showing a steady increase. There are three employment
programs currently in place; the Aged Employment Services Center, the Aged Workplace
and the Aged Employment Promotion. The Aged Employment Services Center first
provided aid programs in 1981, and currently, about 70 centers are in operation.
The Aged Workplace program started in 1986, and 545 communal workplaces are
being operated by voluntary organizations with government assistance.
Also, the Aged Employment Promotion Law was enacted, encouraging companies to
employ 3 percent or more of its employees from the senior population aged 55
or more. In addition, this law stipulates that 77 types of jobs -such as selling
bus tickets and cigarettes, attending parking lots and public parks, etc. -
should first be given to seniors.
Welfare for Children
The Child Welfare Act prescribes measures to protect minors and support them
in difficult conditions. The number of disadvantaged children has been decreasing
due to effective policies by the government. The government is currently
doing its best to provide more and better services for children in need and
train more social workers who specialize in children's problems.
Support for Disadvantaged Children in Welfare Facilities: The government extends
financial support to children in welfare facilities, and pay allowances for
the special trainers at the institutions. In 2000, 29,356 children met their
sponsors, and received 10.5 billion won (approximately US$8.5 million) in aid.
In accordance with the government policy placing more emphasis on domestic adoption
than foreign, 1,686 orphans were adopted by foster parents in Korea in 2000.
The government has been providing employment programs - such as technical and
vocational training, consultation, social adjustment, etc. - for grown-up orphans
since 1976.
Support for Juvenile-headed Households: As of June 2005, there were 4,386 households
without any adult members. Most of them were under financial difficulties. To
protect these households and provide better living standards, the government
included them as the beneficiaries of the livelihood protection and health aid
systems. They also receive financial support for their education and clothes.
Prevention of Child Abuse: The government set up a legislative framework to
prevent child abuse, and operates 24-hour hot-lines for immediate reporting
of child abuse. The centers for the prevention of child abuse are at local autonomies
to identify, treat, protect and prevent child abuse.
Child Education-Care Project: The objective of the Child Education-Care (Educare)
Project is to provide physical and mental protection, suitable education, and
better living standards for pre-school children. This project, sponsored by
the government, provides supports for Educare centers and poor families.
Employment Insurance System
The Employment Insurance System was enacted in July 1995 to secure a systematic
device to resolve imbalances between the supply and demand for human resource.
The "Employment Insurance System" is both a comprehensive labor market policy
and a social security system, incorporating not only its traditional function
of providing unemployment benefits with the mission of promoting the structural
adjustment of industries, promoting job security and developing workers' vocational
abilities.
From October 1998, all workplaces, including those hiring temporary, or hourly
workers, became subject to the Employment Insurance System. The ratio of workers
covered by the Employment Insurance reached 80 percent by 2002.
The unemployment benefits are given to stabilize the lives of the unemployed
and their families for a certain period of time and to supply them with job
information to help them find jobs. Unemployment benefits are paid for 90 to
240 days based on insurance period and age of the unemployed.
Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance System
The purpose of this system is to compensate rapidly and fairly the victims of
occupational accidents. Special facilities are established to promote rehabilitation
and social reintegration of injured workers under the industrial accident compensation
insurance projects.