"We Will End Families' Sacrifice"... 24/7 Continuous Care for the Most Severe Disabilities to Begin Next Year, Including Weekends

24-Hour One-on-One Care for the Most Severely Disabled to Be Extended to Weekends in Parents’ Absence
Daytime Activity Services to Expand to 30,000 Beneficiaries; Disability Community Independence Act to Be Implemented in 2027

The paradigm of the care system for people with developmental disabilities—which has been abnormally reliant on the devotion and sacrifice of families—will be fully shifted to a national responsibility system. The government has announced that 24-hour individualized one-on-one care for the most severely disabled, previously limited to weekdays, will be extended to weekends. Furthermore, by 2030, the local community support network will be expanded to cover all basic local governments nationwide. The goal is to systematically prevent the extreme care-related tragedies that families of people with developmental disabilities have faced, such as those driven to the brink by the aging or loss of parents.

Infographic on National Responsibility System for Caring for People with Developmental Disabilities. Ministry of Health and Welfare.

On September 10, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, together with related ministries, finalized and announced the “Promotion Plan for the National Responsibility System for Caring for People with Developmental Disabilities,” which is National Policy Project No. 79, aimed at improving the quality of life and guaranteeing fundamental rights for people with disabilities. This comprehensive policy plan is a collaborative effort involving six ministries: the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, National Police Agency, and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It comprises three main strategies, eleven key tasks, and fifty detailed measures, forming a practical roadmap for the state to substantively support care throughout life stages, independence in daily life, and community infrastructure.

The government’s move to declare comprehensive intervention is prompted by rapidly rising prevalence and the structural crisis of care gaps. As of the end of last year, there were 288,000 people with developmental disabilities nationwide, accounting for 11.0% of all registered persons with disabilities, and this number continues to grow each year. Notably, the self-reliance rate in daily life for people with developmental disabilities is just 26.4%, less than half of the average (64.8%) for all people with disabilities. As a result, 46.2% of caregivers are forced to give up their livelihoods, and 29.6% report severe depression and mental health crises, making household collapse increasingly common. With adults and elderly people with developmental disabilities now making up 75.5% of the total, the challenges of an aging population are accelerating. In this context, problems surrounding the right to survival for children left alone after their parents’ deaths have emerged as a pressing national issue that can no longer be overlooked.

To address this, the government will radically expand daytime activity services so that adults with developmental disabilities can spend their days in the community, rather than in isolation. The number of service users, currently around 15,000, will increase to 20,000 by 2027, and then be gradually expanded to 30,000 by 2030, in order to fully eliminate chronic waiting lists. The number of integrated care recipients for the most severe developmental disabilities, who exhibit extreme challenging behaviors, will increase from 2,340 to 2,760, and the number of emergency care institutions will be expanded to 39. In particular, starting in the second half of 2027, the 24-hour one-on-one care service, which until now required the most severely disabled to return home every weekend, will be fully available on weekends as well, ensuring there are no care gaps even if parents are absent, and providing round-the-clock service 365 days a year.

The ecosystem to facilitate deinstitutionalization and true economic self-reliance will also be systematically enhanced. With the full implementation of the “Disability Community Independence Act” in March 2027, pilot projects will transition to the formal program, with participating local governments expanding from all metropolitan districts in 2027 to all basic districts nationwide by 2030. People with disabilities who wish to live independently will have seamless access to customized housing, activity support, and jobs. To lower barriers to employment, the number of vocational upskilling trainees will be significantly increased from 400 to 720, and the number of workplace supporters for severely disabled people will be reinforced to 12,200. In preparation for parent bereavement, public guardianship training and asset management support services will be expanded, while support for rights protection during investigations and additional staffing for Disability Rights Advocacy Agencies will be strengthened in parallel.

The plan also includes sophisticated improvements to the service delivery system, from early intervention in infancy to support for frontline workers. Annual support hours for families raising children with disabilities will be increased from 1,200 to 1,320 hours. New regional centers for children with disabilities will be established in 16 metropolitan cities and provinces, providing an integrated link between welfare, education, and healthcare. To address staffing shortages due to poor working conditions, a wage bonus for early childhood disability caregivers will be introduced starting in 2027, and the coverage of the comprehensive insurance plan for projects supporting people with developmental disabilities will be enhanced to reduce risk of accidents.

Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-kyeong stated, “People with developmental disabilities have the same fundamental right as anyone else to live ordinary lives as part of society. Moving forward, we will focus policy capabilities so that the country and local communities can share and shoulder the heavy burden that families have so far carried alone.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.