By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The nation's human rights agency said that motor-driven ``wheelchair stair lifts'' at metro stations, which physically disabled people use to move up and down stairs, only embarrass them and cause accidents. Therefore, the government and subway authorities should install more ``elevators'' instead, the National Human Rights Commission said Monday.
It sent the recommendation to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs and other related ministries and agencies, saying the stair lifts are of little help.
Currently, those who wish to use the facility must press a button to call a station attendant at the end of the stairs and wait for the crew to operate the device. The lift moves up or down while sounding an alarm the whole time to make travelers aware of its operation.
The commission, however, said disabled people claim the alarm sound makes people look at them and makes them feel embarrassed. ``They know other people mean no harm but they take it very personally sometimes,'' a commission spokeswoman said. Since the lift moves at a slow pace, the embarrassment they feel is long, giving them additional stress, she added.
Moreover, the lifts can be dangerous. The safety bar often does not work and since 2006, eight people have fallen out of their wheelchairs during the process, and one died.
The human rights agency suggested that more elevators should be built for the disabled. However, considering that installing elevator needs time and huge amount of budget, the commission advised that all staff be ``reeducated'' to respect and be more sensitive toward disabled people first.
The wheelchair stair lift was first adopted in 1988 in preparation for the Seoul Olympics at the Sport Complex station line No.2. It was once considered one of the most disabled-friendly and cheap devices, and there are 1,146 installed nationwide.
Disabled people's circles welcomed the announcement. ``The wheel chair lifts were designed for hand-operated ones. These days many people use electronic ones or little scooters, which do not fit on the lift,'' Jung Ji-young, spokeswoman for Disabled People's International Seoul, said.
``There were many people saying they would rather not go out or meet other people because such public transportation facilities do not work well. We have kept requesting more elevators,'' she added.