The National Human Rights Commission (NHRCK) decides that non-installation of elevators in a public library constitutes discrimination against persons with disability limiting their cultural activities and recommends the Mayor of Yeosu city to equip the Yeosu city library with elevators so that persons with disability who use a wheel chair have no problem to access to facilities in the library.
The petitioner Ms. Lee (24) filed a petition before NHRCK on June 2011 insisting that persons with disability who need a wheel chair to move have limited access to facilities on the floors other than the first level since there is no elevator in the library.
In opposition to it, the Head of Yeosu city library claimed that the library provides services persons with disability with free book delivery program and staffs at the library assist them when they want to go to another floor. He also said the library would like to make its best effort to install the elevator.
On the other hand, NHRCK believes the price for elevator installation is not excessive for Yeosu city on the ground of facts that the library is for the public, electronic wheel chair users practically cannot travel to another floor and thus are impossible to use a multimedia room, the library reported back to install the elevator in the near future, and by taking the budget of Yeosu city into consideration.
NHRCK decided that the library did not fulfill its obligation to provide services for persons with disability since they did not install an elevator without a proper reason, which is in breach of Article 24 of the Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination of Disabled Persons, Remedy against infringement of Their Rights, Etc. and recommended to rectify injustice.
