Gyeonggi Province Promotes Smart App Service for Disabled-Friendly Facilities

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun, Reporter] Gyeonggi Province is promoting a smart app service that provides people with disabilities information about accessible facilities such as restaurants, cafes, and accommodations.

The province will also provide financial support for ramp installation costs at small-scale private facilities to enhance mobility and accessibility for people with disabilities.

According to the "Act on Guarantee of Convenience for Persons with Disabilities, Elderly, and Pregnant Women," buildings of a certain size are mandated to install accessible facilities including disabled parking spaces, ramps, and restrooms.

However, people with disabilities often face difficulties in accessing information about such facilities, experiencing challenges in facility use and parking. Cases where entry itself is impossible due to stairs and curbs are frequent.

To address these issues, the province will provide the "Smart App Service for Disabled-Friendly Facilities" beginning in the second half of next year.

Utilizing location-based services, the app allows users to search for nearby facilities close to their location and by type of accessible amenity, and includes navigation functions to guide directions to destinations.

For this initiative, the province will recruit 40 people with disabilities as "Field Survey Personnel for Disabled-Friendly Facilities" to conduct surveys of facilities equipped with accessibility features.

Survey targets include restaurants, shopping centers, hospitals, and other establishments that can be comfortably used by wheelchair users, focusing on the installation status of entrances, parking lots, elevators, and restrooms within facilities.

The province plans to enhance the accuracy of information about disabled-friendly facilities through on-site surveys conducted by people with disabilities and to encourage job creation.

The "Ramp Supply Project" will invest 110 million won in provincial funds next year to support ramp installation costs for approximately 200 small-scale shops selected across the province.
The province expects to improve convenience for people with disabilities and activate the local economy through increased sales for small business owners.

Lee Byung-woo, Director of the Welfare Division of Gyeonggi Province, said, "Disability is no longer a condition that requires people to endure inconvenience and accept discrimination. We hope this project will guarantee the rights that people with disabilities rightfully deserve and contribute to creating a 'fair Gyeonggi Province where all residents are treated equally' so that people with disabilities can live on equal terms with non-disabled people."

Meanwhile, the province plans to continue promoting various projects for advancing the rights and interests of people with disabilities, including expansion of assistive device support services and provision of psychological counseling and physical and mental health treatment support.