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.