National Human Rights Commission of Korea Annual Report 2015
on August 21st under the theme of foreigners of Korean descent who live in Korea and their
Part II
Commission held a joint forum with the Association for the Studies of Koreans Abroad (ASKA)
human rights, discussing solutions to promote their rights.
At the forum on the 7th anniversary of implementation of the Anti-Disability Discrimination
Act in April, 2015, participants discussed improving access to mobile information and
broadcasting services for the disabled. With the same context and topic, the Commission cohosted a forum on improving access to mobile information for people with vision and hearing
impairment on September 1st with the Korea Blind Union and the office of the lawmaker Min
Byung-Joo.
At the forum, we discussed problems in the existing legislations, including the Anti-Disability
Discrimination Act, as well as the desirable revisions. In particular, we focused on how the
Enforcement Decree of the Anti-Disability Discrimination Act and Framework Act on National
Informatization only cover PC-based websites. We also discussed limitations in the Public
Notice on Guaranteeing Access to Broadcasting Service for the Disabled and how it needs to be
revised. Furthermore, university students with vision impairment prepared a side-event called
the Mini Book Concert, preparing an opportunity to communicate with the participants.
G. Meeting with organizations and agencies related to HRIA
The Commission hosted a meeting with organizations and agencies related to Human Rights
Impact Assessment (HRIA) on September 22nd. The meeting was held in the presence of
personnel from organizations and agencies related to different impact assessment systems,
including (1) the Corruption Impact Assessment Division, Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights
Commission; (2) Gender Impact Assessment Division, MOGEF; and (3) the Lifestyle Diseases
Research Center, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (related to Health Impact
Assessment).
Through a comparison with other impact assessment systems, the Commission checked
(1) how investigation and advisory are used; (2) voluntary verification standards in different
systems; (3) acceptance rate of recommendations; (4) preliminary check-up standards; and
Part II Major Activities of NHRCK | 59
Major Activities of NHRCK
F. Forum on improving access to mobile information for people with vision and
hearing impairment