Inclusive Society and Older Persons with Disabilities
Seo In Whan
Secretary General of Korea Federation of Organization of the Disabled<Abstract>

There are some reasons that the number of older persons with disabilities increase. For example,
premature aging and life extension of persons with disabilities, and being a person with disability
naturally from aging etc. Medical approach to older persons with disabilities in considering them as
unhealthy persons could cause big losses individually and socially. Therefore now it is time tohighlight the issue of older persons with disabilities and to develop various measures of policy forthem.

1. Older persons in the CRPD

Article 25 (Health) of the CRPD prescribes that state parties provides services designed to minimize
and prevent further disabilities, including among older persons. And also article 28 (Adequate
standard of living and social protection) prescribes ensuring older persons with disabilities to social
protection programs and poverty reduction programs.

2. Population of older persons with disabilities

Population (%)

Population of Elderly PWDs in Korea

PWDl Population over 65
PWDl Population over 65
Total Population over 65

According to the data of the Korea Statistics Agency, as of 2005, population of elderly persons over65 years old was 7.2% but population of persons with disabilities over 65 was 32.5%. In 2017,
population of older persons increased to 13.8% but population of persons with disabilities over 65
reached 46.6%. As more than half of persons with disabilities are older persons, now policy for older
persons with disabilities should be developed. Serious social problems in an aging society are alreadyoccurred in the society of elderly with disabilities.

3. Characteristic of older persons with disabilities

When became an elderly person, people tends to be more passive, and physical, social andemotional functions could be degraded, and they could be in rehabilitation settings. To overcome
these, exercising rights actively, living vibrant post-retirement life and changing into the social model
are required.

According to a health statistics in Korea, average life span of persons with autism disabilities is 28
years old, and before the age of 40, aging begins for persons with developmental disabilities andaging begins for persons with disabilities on average 50 years old. Compared with the average life
span of persons without disabilities, life span of the disabled is about 10 years shorter than others.
And beginning of older persons with disabilities is being considered differently from 50 or 65 years old
based on different standards such as retirement age or beginning of service for the elderly etc. For
persons with developmental disabilities, beginning of older persons is around 40 years old. However,age-specific service considering this condition is not fully provided.

Older persons need following programs such as health care, minimizing and preventing furtherdisability, poverty reduction, participation and safety etc.

4. Conflict between older persons and PWDs policies
In Korea, when age of persons with disabilities is over 65, a disability pension changes into an elderlypension. And a personal assistance service changes into an elderly care service. Based on the typeof pension, tax deduction is different, which means actual income will be different. Also under thissituation, benefits of a personal assistance service are being cut to a quarter. After being an older
person, as social participation activity is replaced with care service, persons with disabilities become aperson who is waiting death by degrading their life quality.

Different government ministries provide an old-person policy and a disability policy, respectively
without coordination and people need to select only one ministry policy for service. Even this right tochoice is not in the hands of the disabled or the elderly, but in the hands of the government.

Persons with disabilities demand that they want to continue to receive services what they have been
received before 65, but this request is not accepted because it's not fair considering a person who has
been a person with disability from aging. An elderly person who is eligible to receive care service will
be able to apply to register as a person with disability. Therefore, the government says if he or she isgiven the rights to choice, all people would apply disability service, which could be resulted that theelderly service system is going to break down.

5. PWDs policy following policy of older persons

Because of social attitude to respect elderly persons, the public supports services for older persons.
And elderly persons' population is more than disability population, which means that politicians want
to approach elderly persons. Also the elderly who are tend to be conservative are easy to cast theirvotes. Therefore, during the election process, elderly policy takes precedence over disability policy
and negative comments against persons with disabilities by politicians could receive less resistancethan negative comments against older persons.

The Korean government developed a draft revised act of a national pension including the elderly andthe disabled. But this possible pension is not managed by national budget, but mandatory elderly
pension that the public pays monthly could be the source for the national pension. Against thisbackground, persons with disabilities say that as population of the elderly is more than population of
the disabled, therefore if disability policy would be included into elderly persons' policy, they can'tmake their voice. Although two acts are being existed independently, disability pension which isconnected with the pension for elderly persons has to follow the level of the elderly pension. However
this is not compensation for cost that persons with disabilities should pay additionally or not incomethat has to be compensated for the disabled. Under the current system, older persons with disabilities
just receive the pension for the elderly as the disability pension.

6. Older persons with disabilities

For older persons with disabilities who have not accumulated assets, making plan for post-retirement
is difficult. And disease caused by disability would be getting worse and also bring other healthproblems including aftereffects. With experiencing disability barrier as well as social barrier, theystrongly feel social isolation.

Medical development has lengthened life span of persons with disabilities, but no environment toenjoy quality of life has been prepared. In particular, in local community, most of persons withdisabilities are the elderly, but no programs for them to protect or to help social participation areexisted.

Under this situation, persons with disabilities have strong feeling of losing presence in thinking thatthey became elderly persons, they are isolated from the society and they can't find any role in thesociety.

Therefore, programs should be developed to bring new meaning of life through active participation in
the society not considering them as the subject of care. For example, various programs and services
must be prepared such as re-establishing meaning of life, lifelong training program, day care service,creating jobs for older persons, seeking the role in the community, doing community service, small
group study activity like humanities, leisure and sports for hobby and social connection and culturalactivity etc.

7. Premature aging of PWDs

Persons with muscle, developmental, internal and physical disabilities experience premature aging
situation. And as a progressive disease, this disability will be developed as severe disability. In thiscase, we need programs for protection, safety and health care of the elderly in the early stage. They
must understand their activity ability and try to be adjusted to aging condition in knowing their lack ofrecognition and movement. As older persons need to accept their lack of driving ability, programs tohelp social adaptation must be provided to the elderly.

In case of disability type which is vulnerable to premature aging, persons with disabilities in this typemust be allowed to use early welfare service. As aged diseases like stroke and dementia are coveredby programs for elderly persons regardless of age of 65, policy must be prepared considering
premature aging. Also developing policy based on statistics is necessary to receive the pension for
older persons in the early stage. Statistics using big data can make this policy possible.

8. Housing support

Most of low-income persons with disabilities are not easy to get benefit from post-retirement plans
using mortgage. Being a elderly person means more poor and could live minimum living cost.
Excessive housing cost in a city is heavier burden. If supply is not enough, providing new rental
houses would face limitation. Along with rental house provision, facilities meeting older persons withdisabilities are necessary. And also to maintain and remain an existing house, subsidy for a houseconsidering reduced incomes must be necessary. The government must make sure that in spite ofbeing an older person with disability, they must not be poorer.

9. Personal assistance service & care service

Care service provided to an elderly person must not be cut personal assistance service for persons
with disabilities. To this end, quantity differences between care service and personal assistanceservice should be compensated. With this measure, the two services are able to coexist and also lifechange of persons with disabilities can be avoided. Services for advocacy and safety also need to beadded and measures to compensate income loss must be considered.

10. Health serviceExclusive doctor system for an individual elderly disability and policy ensuring medical accessibility
are required. Persons with disabilities want to receive health & medical service when they become
elderly persons, but in many cases, accessibility to medical system is not fully provided. Convenientfacilities in a hospital are necessary, as well as developing service manual and remodeling medical
check-up equipment meeting disability type are also required. And persons with disabilities must be
given the chance for periodic medical check-up and health care. Also they need rehabilitation sports
to revive and maintain physical functions so as not to speed up aging.

11. Conclusion

Currently, in disability policy, policy for older persons with disabilities is very weak. Although persons
with disabilities become the elderly persons, they should not be join in the group who are waiting todie. This would be big problem for presence of the disabled and bring big social loss. Along withreflection that will we treat older persons with disabilities as persons who are waiting to die or will we
make them social resources for active social participation, programs ensuring activity andparticipation should be provided together.