Gyeonggi Province Ranks Among Lowest in Accessibility Facilities for Persons with Disabilities

Gyeonggi Province has the highest number of persons with disabilities nationwide, yet ranks among the lowest in the installation rate of accessibility facilities for them, according to a recent survey.

Lee Dong-hwan, director of the Institute for the City of People, revealed in the "Urban Facilities Research for Socially Vulnerable Groups" commissioned by the Gyeonggi Research Institute on Development on the 19th that Gyeonggi Province had the largest registered population of persons with disabilities in the nation as of March 2005 at 322,799 people (19%), followed by Seoul with 281,749 people (16.6%) and South Gyeongsang Province with 120,941 people (7.1%).

In contrast, the province installed accessibility facilities in only 119,431 out of 171,226 target locations, representing a 69.8% installation rate. This is 16.6 percentage points lower than Seoul's 86.4%, which showed the highest installation rate, and also falls short of the national average of 75.8%, according to Director Lee.

This places Gyeonggi Province among the lowest nationally, alongside Jeju Island, which recorded the lowest at 67.9%, and Gangwon and North Chungcheong provinces, both under 70%, Director Lee noted.

Director Lee also pointed out that the proportion of residents aged 65 and over in the province is rapidly increasing from 6.8% (708,024 people) in 2004 to 7.1% (759,419 people) last year, making it urgent to expand accessibility facilities for socially vulnerable groups including persons with disabilities and the elderly.

To address this issue, Director Lee proposed: ▲establishing a dedicated "Barrier-Free City Task Force" ▲creating an urban facilities fund for socially vulnerable groups ▲operating a reporting center for safety accidents in urban facilities ▲enacting ordinances to expand disability facilities.