Comparative Perspectives on Disability Employment Policy

Abstract

This paper attempts to explore Korean employment policies for persons with disabilities from a comparative perspective. The mandatory hiring of persons with disabilities to meet numerical goals and a timetable established by the Employment Promotion of Koreans with Disabilities Act of 1990 has remarkably improved the representativeness of persons with disabilities in most Korean government agencies, though in Korea there are still far fewer public workers with disabilities than in nations with advanced economies. Findings indicate that public workers with disabilities are relatively well represented in departments with agency missions that are closely related to the interests of people with disabilities, and that women with disabilities are severely underrepresented in the civil service. Germany has utilized a quota system to improve the employment of severely disabled persons and disabled women, an approach that Korea should also undertake. Additionally, as in the United States and the United Kingdom, which prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities, an anti-discrimination policy and an equal employment opportunity policy need to be more deliberately devised and strictly implemented along with workplace accommodation provisions.