The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it will give legislative notice of amendments to the Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the Act on the Welfare of Persons with Developmental Disabilities (commonly known as the Developmental Disabilities Act) from April 4 to July 14.

These amendments are being pursued to revise subordinate regulations in accordance with the legal basis established for property management support services and the installation of local developmental disability support centers by local governments, as stipulated in the Developmental Disabilities Act amended on April 1.

The main contents of the amendments are as follows:

First, specific procedures for property management support services for individuals with developmental disabilities have been newly established. The overall operational guidelines, from application to service contract signing, property management methods, contract termination, and closure procedures, are specified (newly added Article 19-5 of the Enforcement Rules).

Second, the provision of property management support services will be entrusted to the National Pension Service, and legal grounds for the handling of sensitive and unique identification information of individuals with developmental disabilities by the service will be newly established (newly added Paragraph 3 of Article 16-2 and newly added Article 16-3, and amended Article 17 of the Enforcement Decree).

Third, matters related to the organization and operation of local developmental disability support centers established by local government heads will be stipulated in each local ordinance, and the operation of these centers may be entrusted to the Korea Disabled People's Development Institute (amended Paragraph 2 of Article 16-2 of the Enforcement Decree and amended Paragraph 4 of Article 23 of the Enforcement Rules).

An official from the Ministry of Health and Welfare stated, "These amendments are measures to establish a systemic and stable institutional foundation for individuals with developmental disabilities to receive more systematic and stable support," and added, "During the legislative notice period, we plan to thoroughly reflect various opinions of the public in the system."

Opinions on the amendments can be submitted to the Disability Services Division of the Ministry of Health and Welfare or the National Participation Legislation Center until July 14.