Reasons for Proposal
The system for certification of the absence of obstacles in habitats is a system whereby a certification agency assesses and certifies target facilities and transport facilities, etc., that fulfill certain standards to induce the installation and operation of amenities for persons with disabilities, etc., and since it was first implemented by government guidelines in 2008, a legal basis for such system was provided through the amendment of the Act in 2015.
Under the current Act, however, target facilities subject to mandatory obtainment of certification is limited to public buildings and public facilities newly built by the State or a local government, such that the ratio of private target facilities among entire target facilities with certification is very low, with the result that there are limits to vitalizing certification.
Also, when forming a certification management committee, etc., there are no provisions on committee members who are persons with disabilities or their ratio, such that it is difficult to effectively take the opinions of persons with disabilities in the course of operating the certification system, and there is no legal basis for the follow-up management of certification and preparation of statistics related to certification, etc., such that systematic certification management is not being carried out.
Therefore, this proposal aims to expand the scope of target facilities subject to mandatory certification to include parks and private facilities of certain scale and above, ensure that persons with disabilities are included as members of a certification management committee, etc., when forming such a committee above a certain ratio, and newly insert provisions on the follow-up management of certification and preparation of statistics related to certification, etc., thereby ensuring the effectiveness of the system for certification of the absence of obstacles in habitats.
Details
A. Parks designated/certified or installed by the State or a local government and facilities prescribed by Presidential Decree after taking the scale, uses, etc., of such facilities into account shall mandatorily obtain certification of the absence of obstacles in habitats including preliminary certification and, in case of violation, an administrative fine of up to 20 million won may be imposed (Articles 10-2 (2), (3), 27 (1), newly inserted).
B. Matters regarding the organization and operation of a certification committee within the Ministry of Health and Welfare and a certification deliberation committee within a certification agency shall be directly prescribed in the Act and, when forming a certification committee and certification deliberation committee, persons with disabilities including those with visual or physical disabilities shall be appointed or commissioned such that they consist of 30% or more of such committee members (Articles 10-2 (5), 10-8, newly inserted).
C. The Minister of Health and Welfare, etc., shall investigate whether target facilities with certification are being maintained and managed according to the certification standards and, in case of non-compliance, shall take necessary measures such as issuing corrective orders, etc., thereby strengthening certification of follow-up management while also preparing/managing certification related statistics such as certification status according to target facility (Articles 10-9, 10-10, newly inserted).
