Daegu: Gunwi County Ranks Last in Employment of People with Disabilities at 2.94%... Agricultural Products Corp. and Arts Promotion Agency Also Lag

Nine District and County Governments, 12 Public Institutions
Face Urgent Push to Raise Employment of People with Disabilities

Daegu City announced on October 11 that it will identify jobs suited to people with disabilities at each institution and improve its recruitment management system to raise the mandatory employment rate for people with disabilities at the city, district and county governments, and affiliated public institutions, and to create more meaningful jobs for people with disabilities.

As of the end of 2025, three of the four public corporations and agencies among the 12 public institutions affiliated with Daegu City met the statutory mandatory employment rate of 3.8%. However, the Agricultural and Fishery Products Distribution Management Corporation, which began operations in January 2024, had no record of employing people with disabilities. All eight institutions funded or invested in by the city fell short of the statutory mandatory employment rate.

Employment Rate of People with Disabilities at Public Institutions Affiliated with Daegu City

Daegu City said, "The main reasons for the low employment rate for people with disabilities at institutions funded or invested in by the city are that, given the nature of their work in areas such as research, technical support, and culture and the arts, many positions require specialized knowledge or specific qualifications, limiting opportunities to hire people with disabilities for suitable jobs, and that there are not many suitable positions, such as general labor or office assistance. We will move beyond simply monitoring employment rates, actively identify jobs suited to people with disabilities based on the characteristics of each institution, and improve the management system to help turn those opportunities into actual hires."

To make hiring people with disabilities more effective, Daegu City will strengthen its management system by linking it to public institution management evaluations and continuously monitoring each institution's employment record. For institutions funded or invested in by the city that previously had no assessment item for mandatory employment of people with disabilities in their management evaluations, the city will introduce a new "Compliance with Mandatory Employment Requirements for People with Disabilities" indicator in 2026 and immediately incorporate it into the evaluation of 2026 management performance, which will take place in 2027.

Daegu Medical Center also hired six additional people with severe disabilities in 2026, raising its employment rate for people with disabilities from 1.55% to 3.2%.

The city will also continue to monitor the employment of civil servants with disabilities by the city, districts, and counties. As of the end of 2025, eight districts and counties met the mandatory employment rate, excluding Daegu City (3.79%) and Gunwi County (2.94%). Gunwi County filled its shortfall through new appointments in September this year.

Daegu City plans to work with the districts and counties to actively inform civil servants with disabilities about opportunities to take the city's transfer examination. It will also continue to monitor staffing changes, including retirements and transfers, as well as employment figures for people with disabilities, to help maintain the mandatory employment rate steadily.

Employment Rate of People with Disabilities at Daegu City Hall and District and County Offices

Meanwhile, the city will expand hiring opportunities for people with disabilities by linking their recruitment to the integrated public institution recruitment process, which will be held for the first time in the second half of next year. Under this process, the city will collect recruitment needs from its affiliated public institutions, draw up a basic plan, and administer written examinations jointly. Daegu City will first review each institution's employment figures for people with disabilities and its mandatory hiring quota, and will actively consult with institutions that need to reserve positions for applicants with disabilities to ensure this is reflected in their recruitment plans.

Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung Ho said, "Employing people with disabilities is an important responsibility for the national and local governments and public institutions to fulfill, going beyond simply meeting the statutory mandatory employment rate. We will actively identify jobs suited to people with disabilities at each public institution and help turn them into actual hires."

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