Courts Pay Over W13.6 Bln in Fines for 6 Years as Employment Rate for People with Disabilities Stuck at 2.7%

It has been revealed that the court system has paid more than 13.6 billion won in fines over the past six years for failing to properly fulfill its legal obligation to employ people with disabilities.

According to data submitted by the Supreme Court to Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Yong-min of the National Legislation and Judiciary Committee today (October 3), out of 17,863 general position public official quotas in the court system as of August this year, the number of employees with disabilities stood at 476, resulting in an employment rate of just 2.7%.

This falls far short of the mandatory 3.8% employment rate for people with disabilities required for state and public institutions under the Act on the Employment Promotion and Vocational Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities.

To meet the legal standard, the courts must employ at least 678 people.

Over the past five years (2021 to 2025), the employment rate for people with disabilities remained around the 2.7% level each year, failing to meet the statutory figure even once.

The total amount of fines paid by the courts for these legal violations over the six-year period up to this year reached 13.6 billion won.

Lawmaker Kim stated, "As the judiciary fails to meet even the mandatory employment rate for people with disabilities every year, it must come up with practical measures rather than just paying fines."

(Photo: Provided by Yonhap News TV, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.