The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said on the 2nd that the National Election Commission and the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) did not accept its recommendations to guarantee the voting rights of people with disabilities.
Ahead of the June 3 local elections, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in January recommended that the National Election Commission establish a comprehensive plan so that voters with developmental disabilities can receive easy-to-understand ballots, campaign booklets, and voting instructions, and that when voters with developmental disabilities find it difficult to mark ballots, they be allowed assistance from a voting aide.
The National Election Commission said it had "implemented" the recommendations, but the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) viewed them as effectively not accepted.
For example, the National Election Commission explained that rather than changing ballots for people with developmental disabilities, it allows assistive tools to be provided. It said the intent is that there are practical constraints, because producing ballots with candidate photos would require replacing everything from early voting equipment to adjudication tabulators and ballot sorters.
The National Election Commission also believed that allowing voting assistance for people with mental disabilities, including those with developmental disabilities, could raise concerns about proxy voting.
However, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) countered, saying, "There are cases in Ireland, Portugal, and Taiwan that provide easy-to-understand ballots, campaign booklets, and voting instructions to substantively guarantee the suffrage of voters with developmental disabilities."
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) added, "If voting support is limited to those with physical disabilities who cannot mark ballots alone, it is difficult to guarantee the political rights of people with developmental disabilities without physical disabilities."
When President Lee Jae-myung went to cast an early vote for the June 3 local elections at the Samcheong-dong community center in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 29th, people with developmental disabilities and members of civic groups handed over a letter in person and demanded that their voting rights be guaranteed.
President Lee asked, "Are you asking to include faces so you can vote by looking at the person?" and then instructed Public Conflict Coordination Secretary Joo Jin-woo to "report how much the expense would be and why it cannot be done."
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also said the National Election Commission did not accept its recommendation to establish a comprehensive implementation plan so that booklet-format campaign materials and braille campaign materials can be prepared with identical content, and to amend the Public Official Election Act to remove page limits on braille campaign materials.
Regarding the recommendation to locate all polling places, including early voting sites, on the first floor or where there are elevator amenities, the National Election Commission replied that it was "already being implemented," but the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) judged that the matter was not properly reviewed, citing problems such as steep gradients at polling place entrances or door thresholds that hinder accessibility.
The Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) replied that careful review is needed regarding the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommendation to expand sign language interpretation broadcasts across public broadcasting by assigning at least two Korean Sign Language interpreters.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said, "Considering that the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) expressed its intention to prepare and pursue measures from multiple angles, we determined the recommendation was partially accepted," but added, "There is a need to specifically present measures to convey debate content by each speaker to people with disabilities."
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also said, "Given that the National Election Commission and the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) may find it difficult to actively improve the recommendations for financial reasons, attention and efforts at the national level are needed."