The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) decided that it is discriminatory to require persons with disabilities who have difficulties in writing to fill out credit card applications on their own, according to Article 17 of the Disability Discrimination Act. Thus, the NHRCK recommended the Financial Services Commission rectify the Enforcement Decree of the Specialized Credit Financial Business Act.
The Enforcement Decree of the Specialized Credit Financial Business Act stipulates that credit card promoters shall verify applicants’ identity and require the applicants to fill out the application form on their own. However, persons with disabilities including persons with brain lesions, persons who lost their fingers or the visually impaired cannot have credit cards since they are not able to fill out the form by themselves. The NHRCK viewed that the regulation did not reflect specific condition of persons with disabilities and it even refrained them from participating in the society to the extent that persons without disabilities do.
Therefore, the NHRCK issued its recommendation to the Financial Services Commission, which is responsible for taking proactive measures to prevent discriminatory actions against persons with disabilities, to revise the regulation.
