Gov't expands care safety net for people with developmental disabilities

The government unveiled a comprehensive plan Thursday to expand state-backed care for people with developmental disabilities in Korea. Led by Health and Welfare Minister Jung Eun-kyeong, the policy shifts care from a private family burden to a public responsibility. It includes expanded daytime and after-school programs, longer home-care support, and 24-hour individual care for people with severe needs. The plan also ties into the upcoming nationwide implementation of the Act on Community Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities.

About 288,000 people with developmental disabilities live in Korea, accounting for 11 percent of the total registered disabled population.

Annual home-care support hours for families raising disabled children will increase, while specialized early-intervention rehabilitation centers and integrated daycare facilities will be expanded.

The plan extends 24-hour individual care to weekends for people with severe behavioral or complex physical needs who lack family guardians.

The government will create clearer pathways for independent living, supported public-sector employment, and state-administered financial guardianship.

Regional support centers and dedicated allowances for frontline care workers are being introduced to help families and service providers manage the new system.

Published Sep 10, 2026 1:55 pm KST

Health and Welfare Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong briefs reporters at Government Complex Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Families in Korea caring for individuals with developmental disabilities — a category covering lifelong cognitive and neurological conditions like autism and intellectual disabilities — have long operated in a state of quiet crisis, bearing an immense physical, emotional and financial toll behind closed doors.

In response, the government has signaled a major structural shift, unveiling a comprehensive plan Thursday to officially transition this care from an isolating household burden into a fully state-backed responsibility.

The landmark policy, announced jointly by interagency ministries led by Minister of Health and Welfare Jung Eun-kyeong, directly addresses the institutional gaps that have repeatedly pushed caregiver families to their limits.

With roughly 288,000 individuals with developmental disabilities nationwide — representing 11 percent of Korea’s total registered disabled population — the national initiative establishes a lifecycle-based safety net designed to move care out of private homes and directly into structured community frameworks.

The announcement carries profound social weight in Korea, where high-profile tragedies involving overwhelmed aging parents have spurred fierce, ongoing advocacy for systemic government intervention. By explicitly reframing developmental care as a fundamental public right rather than a private hardship, the state promises immediate, concrete expansions in public infrastructure, emergency relief and daily operational support across every stage of life.

Under the newly outlined policy, the government will substantially expand daytime and post-school activity programs, targeting the multiyear waiting lists that currently leave young adults stranded at home after completing formal education. Annual home-care support hours for families raising disabled children will increase significantly, running alongside the planned expansion of specialized early-intervention rehabilitation centers and integrated daycare facilities across the country.

Crucially, the initiative introduces expanded 24-hour individual care for people with severe behavioral or complex physical needs — extending coverage to weekends for those who lack family guardians. The plan also establishes clearer pathways for independent living, supported public-sector employment and state-administered financial guardianship, aligning directly with the upcoming nationwide implementation of the Act on Community Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities.

To ensure sustained quality of service, the government is also introducing dedicated allowances for frontline care workers while establishing regional support centers to help parents navigate these services seamlessly from the moment of diagnosis.

Following the policy briefing, the health minister visited the Seobu Community Welfare Center in northwestern Seoul to inspect frontline services and open dialogue with representatives from major disability advocacy coalitions.

"People with developmental disabilities deserve to enjoy the exact same ordinary daily life that the rest of us take for granted," Jung said during the briefing. "The state and local communities will now share the heavy weight of care that families have carried entirely by themselves for far too long."

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.

韩国政府周四公布了一项全面计划，旨在扩大国家对发育障碍人士的照护服务。这项由保健福祉部长官郑银敬牵头的政策，将照护责任从私人家庭转移到公共部门。计划内容包括扩大日间和课后活动项目、延长居家照护服务时间，以及为重度残疾人士提供24小时个性化照护。该计划也与即将在全国范围内实施的《残疾人社会融合法》相衔接。

韩国约有 28.8 万名发育障碍人士，占登记在册残疾人口总数的 11%。

每年将增加对抚养残疾儿童的家庭的家庭护理支持时间，同时将扩大专门的早期干预康复中心和综合日托设施。

该计划将 24 小时个人护理服务扩展到周末，对象是那些有严重行为问题或复杂身体需求，且缺乏家庭监护人的人。

政府将为独立生活、获得公共部门就业支持和国家管理的财务监护创造更清晰的途径。

为帮助家庭和服务提供者管理新系统，政府正在引入区域支持中心和一线护理人员专项津贴。

发布于2026年9月10日下午1:55（韩国标准时间）

韩国保健福祉部长官郑银敬周四在首尔政府大楼向记者通报情况。（韩联社）

在韩国，照顾发育障碍人士（包括自闭症和智力障碍等终身认知和神经系统疾病患者）的家庭长期以来一直处于一种默默的危机状态，在紧闭的门后承受着巨大的身体、情感和经济损失。

对此，政府已发出重大结构性转变的信号，于周四公布了一项全面计划，正式将这项护理工作从孤立的家庭负担转变为完全由国家支持的责任。

由保健福祉部长官郑银敬领导的跨部门部门联合宣布的这项具有里程碑意义的政策，直接解决了长期以来将照护者家庭推向极限的制度性缺陷。

全国约有 28.8 万名发育障碍人士，占韩国登记残疾人总数的 11%。这项国家倡议建立了一个基于生命周期的安全网，旨在将护理从私人家庭转移到结构化的社区框架中。

这项声明在韩国具有深远的社会意义。在韩国，因年迈父母不堪重负而引发的悲剧事件，促使民众持续强烈呼吁政府进行系统性干预。通过将养老服务明确定义为一项基本公共权利而非私人负担，韩国政府承诺立即切实扩充公共基础设施，提供紧急救助和日常运营支持，覆盖人生的各个阶段。

根据新出台的政策，政府将大幅扩展日间和课后活动项目，旨在解决目前导致许多年轻人完成正规教育后只能待在家中、等待多年才能参加活动的难题。政府还将显著增加为残疾儿童家庭提供的年度居家照护支持时长，同时计划在全国范围内扩建专门的早期干预康复中心和综合日托设施。

至关重要的是，该计划扩大了对有严重行为问题或复杂身体需求人士的24小时个人护理服务范围，并将服务覆盖范围扩展至周末，尤其惠及那些缺乏家庭监护的人士。该计划还为独立生活、获得公共部门就业支持以及接受州政府管理的财务监护等途径制定了更清晰的方案，与即将在全国范围内实施的《残疾人社区融合法案》直接衔接。

为确保服务质量持续稳定，政府还为一线护理人员提供专项津贴，同时设立区域支持中心，帮助家长从确诊之日起顺利获得这些服务。

政策简报会结束后，卫生部长前往首尔西北部的西部社区福利中心视察一线服务，并与主要残疾人权益倡导联盟的代表展开对话。

“发育障碍人士理应享有与我们其他人一样的普通日常生活，”荣格在简报会上说。“州政府和地方社区现在将分担家庭长期以来独自承担的沉重照护负担。”

本文由生成式人工智能协助发布，并由《韩国时报》编辑。