A Proposal for Introducing the Anti-Discrimination Legislation for People with Disabilities in Korea

This paper aims to show and examine the Korean Disability Discrimination Bill which has been discussed both in disability groups and in Korean Government. The purpose of the bill is to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities and to protect their Rights. Although Korean approach for tackling the disability discrimination has been based on the Social Welfare Act for People with Disabilities, disability groups have recognized the weakness of the approach in comparison with the international trend of disability discrimination law. The Disability Discrimination Acts Solidarity in Korea（DDASK）, which is pan-association of Korean PWD groups, was formed on April 2003. PWD groups in Korea have continuously acted and had a draft of disability discrimination legislation. In response to activities by DDASK, the government planed to propose the disability discrimination bill of version which has been prepared in the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The draft by the Ministry of Health and Welfare consisted of 50 articles. As the result of the government decision, the Health and Welfare vice minister announced the Korean government officially decided that Disability Discrimination legislation would be included in the processing discrimination law of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea