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“What if I don’t have a disabled person and I bring a puppy?”
On the 29th of last month, an eyewitness account was posted on Instagram that a Lotte Mart employee blocked access to guide dogs and ‘Puppy Walkers’ during training.
Puppy Walker is a volunteer who provides training in socialization taking care of dogs, which will be guide dogs for deaf and visual people, from 7 weeks to 1 year.
The author of the post explained the situation at that time as “fighting with a sound (screams) … the woman who brought the dog cried”.
Also, I posted a photo of a preliminary guide dog that looked scared and said, “Since the dog is anxious, I bite all the tracks.
When the incident became known, criticism was launched against Lotte Mart.
This is because the entry of guide dogs to the places where people travel is legally guaranteed.
Paragraph 3 of Article 40 of the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities Act provides a legitimate reason when a person with a disability accompanied by an assistance dog marked with an assistance dog (guide dog) uses public transport or intends to entering a public place, lodging, food service establishment, etc. It states that it should not be rejected without.
Violation of this provision imposes a fine of 3 million won or less.
Puppywalkers are also included in this clause and can be accompanied by a guide dog to enter these places.
The Lotte Mart side apologized on the official SNS on the date of the boycott and posted a notice that guide dogs can enter all branches.
Experts emphasize that this period, which is the basis for growing as a guide dog, is very important and they feel the need to promote the preliminary phase of training the guide dog.
Professor Ho-yeon Kim from the Department of Special Education at Gangnam University said, “Isn’t it important that people have childhood too?” He said, “At that time, selected volunteers from guide dog schools attended to markets, markets, banks, schools, etc. It is supposed to be ordered from, “he explained.
However, it is not yesterday and today that access to guide dogs is denied.
The perception that our society has of guide dogs is also evidenced in the controversy that arose in April over the visit of the guide dog ‘Joy’ to the main assembly hall of the National Assembly, Kim Ye-ji, a blind person.
Previously, in some places of the National Assembly, the entry of guide dogs was prevented.
Former GNP legislator Jeong Hwa-won, who was first elected blind in 2004, was unable to enter the plenary hall with a guide dog.
However, this was not a “permit” as it was a statutory right for guide dogs to enter public places.
Experts point out that these problems are ultimately the result of the indifference and lack of awareness of people with disabilities and guide dogs.
Professor Hoyeon Kim said, “Guide dogs are like eyes for blind people who are difficult to handle quickly in dangerous situations and when moving.” “Leaving a guide dog outside the door, which is an important means of safe walking, will open your eyes. It’s like closing.”
Some point out that the expression “Entry must not be denied without just cause” in the Law on Social Welfare for the Disabled is subjective.
Consequently, in June this year, Representative Kim Ye-ji proposed a ‘partial amendment to the Welfare Law for the Disabled’, clarifying the ‘justifiable’ reasons for the refusal to enter assistance dogs.
For example, a presidential decree must establish specific reasons for denying access, such as a clean room in a hospital.
Representative Kim Ye-ji said: “(As in this case), there are frequent cases where volunteers with training dogs are denied access, so it is necessary to clearly establish a presidential decree.” It is not a desirable direction that (people) say: “I do not have to refuse because I am afraid of punishment and fines.”
In addition, as it is not easy to meet guide dogs in everyday life, he urged the government and local governments to establish policies to strengthen the positive aspects, such as public relations to transform the conscience, rather than punishment.
Last year, the Korean National Human Rights Commission ruled that denial of assistance dog restaurant entry constitutes discrimination against persons with disabilities.
Guide dogs that become the eyes and ears of the disabled
When can Korea naturally accept these characteristics?
Reporter Eun-jung Lee Internal Reporter Myung-Hyun Han
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