The Five Year Plan II for the Welfare of the Disabled in Korea

Song, Soon Tae

Abstract

Based on the principles of active participation and non-discriminatory treatment, the Five Year Plan II for the Welfare of the Disabled (the Plan-II) is a policy initiative upgraded from its predecessor, the Five Year Plan-I. The goal of the Plan-II is social integration. People with disabilities should be able to join other members of society in a number of activities including, but not limited to, economic ones. Under this goal, the Plan-II sets forth the following five objectives. First, age-specific welfare services should be developed. Second, students with disabilities should have equal opportunities for education in the same setting as other students. Third, the disabled should enjoy job security through the balanced development of welfare and economy. Fourth, the disabled should have an equitable access to IT (information technology)-enabled services. And fifth, safe and convenient transportation system should be put in place for the disabled. The Plan-II also contains the budget and the means of financing, previously excluded in the Plan-I. An estimated KRW 7 trillion and 472.6 billion is needed to finance the above-mentioned programs between 2003 and 2007.