Original article 19
Factors affecting employment among people with mobility
disabilities in South Korea
Soo-Kyung Parka, Jae-Young Yoonb and Terrence Hendersonc
Employment provides not only income but also
opportunities for social participation. This is especially
important for people with disabilities, but the employment
of disabled people in many countries is subject to
significant barriers. This study examines the actual state of
employment of people with mobility disabilities in Korea
and which characteristics affect employment among
people with mobility disabilities. Analysis of responses to
the Community Integration Questionnaire and independent
variables among the study participants showed that the
rate of employment among people with mobility disabilities
(34.2%) is much lower than that of the general population
(60.3%), with only 13.2% in full-time positions. Gender
appeared to be a statistically significant factor influencing
employment. Other demographic characteristics such as
age, level of education and cohabitation did not influence
employment in this study, but people with less severe
disability had a higher probability of being employed.
Disability acceptance appeared to be a vital factor in the
process of vocational rehabilitation. The use of vocational
rehabilitation services did not have a significant effect on
employment. These results suggest that the role of the
formal services system in the employment process of
disabled people is insufficient.
Arbeit liefert uns nicht nur das Einkommen zum Leben,
sondern bietet uns auch Gelegenheit zu einer Teilnahme
am gesellschaftlichen Leben. Dies ist gerade für
behinderte Menschen besonders wichtig, wobei jedoch
die Beschäftigung von behinderten Menschen in vielen
Ländern auf erhebliche Grenzen stößt. Die vorliegende
Studie befasst sich mit dem tatsächlichen Beschäfti-
gungsgrad von Menschen mit Mobilitätsstörungen in Korea
sowie mit der Art der Eigenschaften, die den Beschäfti-
gungsgrad von körperlich behinderten Menschen beein-
flussen. Die Analyse der Antworten auf den Fragebogen
zur Integration in der Gesellschaft und der unabhängigen
Variablen unter den Studienteilnehmern deuteten darauf
hin, dass der Beschäftigungsgrad unter körperlich
behinderten Menschen (34.2%) wesentlich niedriger als bei
der allgemeinen Bevölkerung ist (60.3%). Nur 13.2%
arbeiten ganztags. Das Geschlecht schien sich statistisch
betrachtet auf die Beschäftigung auszuwirken. Andere
demografische Eigenschaften wie Alter, Bildungsstand und
Zusammenleben haben die Beschäftigung in dieser Studie
nicht beeinflusst, wobei jedoch die Wahrscheinlichkeit
einer Einstellung bei körperlich weniger stark behinderten
Menschen größer war. Die Annahme der Behinderung
schien bei der beruflichen Rehabilitation ein
0342-5282
c 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Copyright © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
ausschlaggebender Faktor zu sein. Die Nutzung von
Serviceeinrichtungen für die berufliche Rehabilitation
wirkte sich nicht stark auf den Beschäftigungsgrad aus.
Die Ergebnisse legen die Vermutung nahe, dass die
Rolle der formellen Serviceeinrichtungen beim
Beschäftigungs- und Einstellungsverfahren behinderter
Menschen unzulänglich ist.
El empleo proporciona no sólo ingresos, sino también
la oportunidad de tener participación social. Esto resulta
especialmente importante para personas discapacitadas;
sin embargo, en muchos paı́ses los discapacitados han
de vencer numerosos obstáculos a la hora de obtener un
empleo. Este estudio explora el estado actual del empleo
de los discapacitados motrices en Corea del Sur y los
factores que afectan la posibilidad de éstos para obtener
un empleo. El análisis de las respuestas al Cuestionario de
Integración Comunitaria, y de variables independientes
de los participantes en el estudio mostró que la tasa de
empleo de los discapacitados motrices (34.2%) es mucho
menor que la de población general (60.3%), de quienes
sólo el 13.2% posee empleos a tiempo completo. El sexo
parece ser un factor estadı́sticamente significativo que
afecta la obtención de un empleo. En este estudio, otros
factores demográficos, como la edad, el nivel educacional
y la cohabitación no influyeron en la posibilidad de obtener
un empleo; sin embargo, las probabilidades de obtenerlo
fueron mayores en las personas con discapacidades
menos graves. La aceptación de la discapacidad parece
ser un factor vital en el proceso de rehabilitación
vocacional. El uso de los servicios de rehabilitación
vocacional no tuvo efectos significativos en la posibilidad
de obtener un empleo. Estos resultados indican que el
papel que juega este sistema de servicios profesionales
en la posibilidad de que los discapacitados obtengan un
empleo es insuficiente.
Le travail offre non seulement le moyen de gagner sa vie,
mais également des opportunités de participation sociale.
Cet aspect revêt une importance particulière pour les
personnes souffrant de handicap, mais l’emploi des
handicapés se trouve, dans de nombreux pays, confronté à
des obstacles significatifs. Cette étude examine la
situation réelle au niveau de l’emploi des personnes
souffrant de handicap moteur en Corée et s’intéresse aux
caractéristiques qui affectent l’emploi parmi les individus
souffrant de difficultés motrices. L’analyse des réponses
fournies à un questionnaire sur l’intégration dans la
collectivité, ainsi que l’étude de différentes variables
 20 International Journal of Rehabilitation Research 2007, Vol 30 No 1
indépendantes parmi les participants, démontre que le
taux d’emploi chez les individus souffrant de handicap
c 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
moteur (34.2%) est très largement inférieur à celui de la
population générale (60.3 %), avec seulement 13.2 % de
postes à plein temps. Le sexe semble être un facteur
statistiquement significatif dans ce contexte. Les autres
caractéristiques démographiques comme l’âge, le niveau
d’éducation et la cohabitation n’influencent pas l’emploi
selon cette étude, mais les individus souffrant de
handicaps moins sévères sont plus susceptibles d’être
embauchés. L’acceptation du handicap semble être
un facteur vital dans le processus de rééducation
professionnelle. L’utilisation de services de rééducation
professionnelle ne semble pas avoir d’effet significatif
sur l’emploi. Ces résultats suggèrent que le rôle du
système de services formels dans le processus
d’embauche des personnes handicapées est
Introduction
For people with disabilities, employment is not only a
source of income, but also offers a powerful opportunity
for social participation. The employment of disabled
people in many countries is, however, met with
significant barriers. In fact, the employment rate of
disabled people in Britain and the US is 32 and 50% of
the population, respectively, compared to 78 and 80%
among the non-disabled population, and does not exceed
50% in any country (Tillsley, 1997; McNeil, 2001).
Similarly, in South Korea, according to the 2005 National
Survey on People with Disabilities (KIHASA, 2006) the
employment rate of disabled persons is slightly better
that of Britain at 34.2% among the disabled compared
to 60.3% among the non-disabled. The problem of
employment in the case of disabled people lies not
only in the relatively low rate of employment, but also
in the structure of their work. Many of these individuals
in Korea are employed in sectors with high job insta-
bility, such as temporary full-time positions (15.5%),
irregular daily employment (18.8%) and/or self-
employment in cyclical areas of the economy (31.3%)
(KIHASA, 2006).
In Korea, persons included in the category of ‘people with
mobility disabilities’ are those individuals with long-term
impairments from which recovery is not possible. This
broad category is further divided into functional limita-
tions due to impairments of limbs or the spinal cord
(amputation, spinal cord injury, poliomyelitis, etc.), and
functional limitations due to injury of brain and related
motor control dysfunction (cerebral palsy, stroke, multi-
ple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, etc.). At present,
people with mobility disabilities account for more than
half (60.1%) of the population of those with disabilities in
Korea (KIHASA, 2006).
Copyright © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
insuffisant. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research
30:19–25
International Journal of Rehabilitation Research 2007, 30:19–25
Keywords: disability, employment, South Korea
a
Department of Social Welfare, Daejin University, Pochon City, South Korea,
b
Department of Social Welfare, SungKyunKwan University, Seoul, South Korea
and cInternational Relations and Education Center, Humanities and Social
Sciences Campus, 53 Myeongnyun-dong, 3-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Correspondence and requests for reprints to T.D. Henderson, International
Relations and Education Centre, Humanities and Social Sciences Campus,
53 Myeongnyun-dong 3-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-745, South Korea
Tel: + 82 10 9982 1398;
e-mail: thenderson@skku.edu
Sponsorship: This work was supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant,
(KRF-2003-041-B00379).
Received 12 June 2006 Accepted 10 September 2006
In order to reduce the high rates of unemployment
experienced by the disabled in Korea the government
introduced the ‘Act for the Employment Promotion and
Vocational Rehabilitation for the Disabled’ (1990). The
Act includes provisions for mandated cooperation be-
tween all levels of government concerning the employ-
ment of the disabled. The Act contains a quota system for
the employment of the disabled of 2% of the labor force
for public and private entities of over 50 employees. In
December 2004, the employment rate slightly exceeded
the compulsory percentage at 2.04% within the public
sector, but the level within the private sector fell well
below its target at 1.31% (MOL, 2006).
In order to further support entry into the labor market
the Korean government also established measures that
included the introduction of vocational rehabilitation and
training. Such programs are currently jointly sponsored
and offered through the Ministry of Labor and the
Ministry of Health and Welfare. This cross-ministry
collaboration has, however, from a delivery and oversight
perspective, not been successful (MOL, 2006).
Such initiatives in Korea were originally based on research
focusing on human capital theory and issues of disability
discrimination (Lee, 1997; Yu, 2000; Kang, 2002; Lee,
2004). Unfortunately, what appears to be absent in the
Korean case is a thorough exploration of the diverse set of
variables that influence the desired outcomes of both
meaningful employment and rehabilitation.
This present study seeks to begin to redress such
shortcomings by addressing two key research questions:
(1) what is the actual state of the employment of people
with mobility disabilities in Korea and (2) which
 Factors affecting employment among people with disabilities Park et al. 21
characteristics related to disability or environment affect
employment among people with mobility disabilities?
Factors associated with employment of dis-
abled persons in Korea
Many disability researchers examining problems experi-
enced by the disabled in securing and maintaining
employment have concluded that degree of disability is
one of the key factors affecting employment status
(Fitzgerald et al., 1981; Linch, 1981; Bolton, 1982; Park,
1999). In the 2005 National Survey on People with
Disabilities in Korea (KIHASA, 2006) it was reported by
almost half of the respondents (45.0%) that the main
cause of their unemployment was that ‘with a severe
disability it is likely difficult to gain employment’. This
statement was reported by 37.5% of those individuals
with limb or spinal cord impairments, and 69.9% of those
individuals having injury of brain and related motor
control dysfunction. This suggests that among individuals
with physical limitations the actual limitation itself
is a significant factor relating to employment status
(KIHASA, 2006).
In the research literature on disability acceptance,
positive psychosocial adaptation has been identified as
an important predictor of employment (Lee et al., 1985;
Belgrave and Walker, 1991; Asbury et al., 1996; Park,
1999). Prior studies have also highlighted that, in
conjunction with such processes, the level of social
support also plays a crucial role in predicting employment
status (Turner and Ten Hoor, 1978; Jacobs, 1988; Choi,
1999). Furthermore, formal support, such as the proffer-
ing of vocational rehabilitation services, and the argument
that this enhances employment outcomes, originates in
theories of human capital (Schultz, 1963; Mincer, 1978).
This has not, however, proven true in the Korean case
(Lee, 1997; Park, 1999; Yu, 2000).
The influence of gender on employment for both the
disabled and non-disabled alike is well researched. In
fact, as Barrett et al. (1978) noted, gender discrimination
is a long-standing phenomenon for both women and
ethnic minorities. This is wholly consistent with Korean
data. Again, based on data collected by the Korean
government it was found that the rate of employment
among disabled males was 43.5%, in contrast to 20.2%
among females (KIHASA, 2006).
Other socio-demographic characteristics that have been
studied as predictors of employment status among the
disabled are age and educational attainment. In the first
instance, Lee (1997) denies a significant role concerning
age in terms of employment of the disabled in Korea.
This is in contrast to studies completed by Park (1999)
and Yu (2000) which suggest that age and employment
among the disabled are correlated. Other researchers have
Copyright © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
highlighted the importance of educational attainment.
For example, Smith and Crissler (1985) conducted
research with recipients of disability insurance. They
found that those who were without formal education had
a lower probability of returning to previous employment
and that their movement to another occupation was also
marked with significant difficulty.
Methods
Participants in this study were inhabitants of the Korean
capital, Seoul, and the neighboring Province of Gyeonggi.
They were between 15 and 65 years of age, capable of
economic activity, and officially registered as people with
disabilities in accordance with Korean government guide-
lines.
The current study limited the participants to those with
mobility disabilities resulting from either limb and spinal
cord injury or injury of brain and related motor control
dysfunction. These persons were chosen as within the
categories of individuals legally defined as disabled
persons in Korea, such individuals represent the greatest
number; they also have the highest rate of employment.
Our sample was selected from three populations living in
a large urban center, a medium-sized city and a rural
village. In each location the survey was conducted with
200 respondents. We utilized random sampling methods
to select participants from registries provided by local
government administrators. The authors randomly se-
lected participants from these registries to obtain our
sample of individuals with mobility disabilities.
Data were collected by telephone interview during the
month of September, 2005. The survey research was
conducted by 20 students who received intensive training
on telephone interview techniques. In the telephone
interview we explained to the potential respondents the
goals and content of questionnaires and sought their
formal and informed consent to participate.
Measurements
Dependent variables
The ‘Community Integration Questionnaire’ (CIQ) with
single-response items was employed to determine the
participants’ level of engagement in economic activities.
The CIQ was developed by Willer et al. (1994) and
translated using the reverse translation method by Park
(1997). In this questionnaire, single-item questions
concerning employment status are put to respondents
and include the following possible responses: (1) full-
time employment (regular); (2) full-time employment
(contract); (3) part-time employment; (4) self-employ-
ment; (5) currently unemployed but actively seeking
work; (6) currently attending a training course or
educational institution; (7) voluntary work and similar
types of activities; (8) household work; (9) currently
 22 International Journal of Rehabilitation Research 2007, Vol 30 No 1

unemployed and not seeking employment; and (10) Table 1 Descriptive statistics for independent variables assessed
other. Categories (1)–(4) were defined as ‘employed’ and in relation to employment
coded as ‘1’, and the others defined as ‘unemployed’ and Variables n %
coded as ‘0’ in this study. Gender
Male 201 55.4
Female 162 44.6
Independent variables Age (years) 201 55.4
The independent variables examined in this study were 15–19 23 6.3
divided between those disability-specific characteristics 20–29 9 2.5
30–39 76 20.9
and those related to environment factors. Among the 40–49 98 27.0
disability-specific characteristics explored were degree of 50–59 93 25.6
60–65 64 17.6
disability, age of onset of disability, type of disability and Education
acceptance of disability. The official Korean disability No formal education 30 8.3
rating scale (1–6 degrees) was employed to measure the Elementary school 55 15.2
Middle school 88 24.2
degree of disability. Respondents were requested to High school 140 38.6
provide age of onset concerning their disability. The College or university 50 13.8
Partner
authors coded injury of limbs or the spinal cord as ‘1’ and Living with a partner 188 51.8
due to injury of brain and related motor control Living without a partner 175 48.2
dysfunction as ‘0’ to measure the type of disability. Degree of disability
Grade 1 (very severe) 65 17.9
Grade 2 (severe) 42 11.6
In order to measure acceptance of disability the authors Grade 3 58 16.0
Grade 4 56 15.4
utilized Linkowski’s Acceptance of Disability Scale Grade 5 (mild) 85 23.4
(Linkowski, 1988) which was translated using the reverse Grade 6 (very mild) 57 15.7
translation method by Park (2006). Cronbach’s a, in Type of disability
Impairment of limbs or the spinal cord 299 82.4
terms of reliability for this measure, was 0.623 in this Impairment due to motor control dysfunction 64 17.6
study. Age of onset (years)
<7 98 28.6
8–13 11 3.2
The Multidimensional Support Scale, as developed by 14–19 18 5.2
20–29 30 8.7
Winefied et al. (1992), measuring emotional, instrumental 30–39 62 18.1
and informational support, was utilized in order to 40–49 62 18.1
determine level of support from our participants family 50–59 53 15.5
60–65 9 2.6
and significant others. The original scale was translated Residence area
by Park (1997) using the reverse translation method. In Large city 130 35.8
terms of assessing what we defined as formal support, or Medium-sized city 130 35.8
Rural village 103 28.4
vocational rehabilitation, the authors requested that our Use of vocational rehabilitation services
participants confirm or deny the use of such services Yes 12 3.3
No 349 96.7
recording the responses as given.
Mean SD

Finally, in terms of demographic characteristics, the Acceptance of disability 2.94 0.452

variables examined were gender, age, level of education Social support
Emotional support 2.81 0.965
and cohabitation with a partner. Instrumental support 2.57 1.118
Informational support 1.87 1.043

Results
The statistics for the independent variables assessed are
shown in Table 1. Analyzing the demographic character-
istics of participants in this study we found that more
than half were males – 55.4% with an average age of 46.25
years (SD = 12.7 years). With regard to age, 27.0% were
in their 40s, 25.6% in their 50s, and 17.6% were between
60 and 65. In terms this study’s respondents slightly more
than half (52.4%) had completed high school and
attended a post-secondary educational institute. Finally,
51.8% of the respondents of this study were living with a
partner.
(categories 1–3) (Table 1). The most frequent type of
disability reported was that of a limb or spinal cord
impairment at 82.4%. In terms of age of onset, 28.6% of
the participants reported an age of onset of less than 7
years of age and 54.3% reported an age of onset as
occurring after 30 years of age. In terms of place of
residence, 35.8% of the participants resided in a large city,
35.8% in a middle-sized city and 28.4% in a rural village.
This demonstrates a balanced distribution in terms of
areas of residence.

Concerning disability-specific characteristics we found Only a limited number of the respondents (3.3%) had
that 45.5% were defined as having a severe disability previous experience with professional rehabilitation

Copyright © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
 Factors affecting employment among people with disabilities Park et al. 23

services. The mean score for acceptance of disability was
2.94 (SD = 0.452), and the mean scores for emotional,
instrumental and informational support were 2.81
(SD = 0.965), 2.57 (SD = 1.118) and 1.87 (SD = 1.043),
respectively. The average figures concerning informa-
tional support, when compared to other types of support,
are especially low.
With regard to employment status of the participants,
34.2% indicated they were employed, 5% indicated they
were seeking work and 4.4% indicated they were
attending school or some type of professional training
institute (Table 2). On the other hand, 22.6% reported
being unemployed and was not seeking employment.
Table 3 presents the results of logistic regression analysis
for employment or unemployment and dependent vari-
ables. Model I analyzes the influence of disability-specific
characteristics on the possibility of employment, control-
ling for the effect of socio-demographic characteristics.
The results show that the probability of employment is
Table 2 Employment status of people with mobility disabilities
Employment status (N = 363)
Full time employment
Part-time employment
Self-employment
Seeking employment but currently unemployed
Not seeking employment and unemployed
Currently attending formal educational programs or
vocational rehabilitation programs
House keeping
Others
higher for males, people with a greater degree of
disability, and those with a greater level of disability
acceptance.
Model II analyzes socio-demographic characteristics and
the influence of environmentally specific factors. Gender,
level of education and type of social support (emotional,
instrumental or informational) have, without exception,
a notable influence on the possibility of employment.
Model III analyzes the relative influence of environ-
mental and specific factors related to disability on the
possibility of employment, controlling for socio-demo-
graphic characteristics. The probability of employment is
higher for males, and increases with severity of disability,
level of disability acceptance and higher levels of
informational support. When instrumental support is
lower, however, there is a higher probability of employ-
ment. Emotional support does not appear to be an
important variable connected with employment.
Discussion
The aim of this study was to identify factors influencing
employment and to confirm which factors ought to be
n %
considered in the vocational rehabilitation process for
people with disabilities. The results in this study are
48 13.2
26 7.2
exploratory, but suggest some critical issues that require
50 13.8 further exploration.
18 5.0
82 22.6
16 4.4 The rate of employment among people with mobility
disabilities (34.2%) is much lower than that of general
98 27.0
25 6.9
population (60.3%). Also, only 13.2% of the participants
of this study reported having full time positions. This

Table 3 Logistic regression models predicting employment status

Model I Model II Model III

B SE Exp(B) B SE Exp(B) B SE Exp(B)

Socio-demographic characteristics
Gender 1.178 0.278 3.247*** 1.371 0.263 3.940*** 1.353 0.294 3.867***
Age 0.011 0.015 1.011 0.020 0.012 1.021 0.018 0.017 1.019
Level of education 0.226 0.129 1.254 0.300 0.124 1.350* 0.261 0.139 1.299
Presence of a partner 0.280 0.266 1.323 0.442 0.264 1.556 0.429 0.298 1.536
Disability related to characteristics
Degree of disability 0.397 0.092 1.487*** 0.411 0.100 1.508***
Onset of disability – 0.015 0.009 0.985 – 0.012 0.009 0.988
Type of disability 0.657 0.435 1.929 0.571 0.483 1.771
Acceptance of disability 0.838 0.313 2.313** 0.736 0.344 2.087*
Environmental characteristics
Use of vocational rehabilitation – 0.120 0.661 0.887 – 0.038 0.707 0.963
services
Emotional support 0.339 0.160 1.404* 0.212 0.171 1.236
Instrumental support – 0.540 0.145 0.583*** – 0.469 0.162 0.626**
Informational support 0.393 0.161 1.482* 0.421 0.184 1.524*
Area of residence – 0.150 0.278 0.860 0.262 0.332 1.299
Constant – 6.998 1.425 0.001*** – 4.033 1.001 0.018*** – 7.741 1.634 0.000***
Model w2 78.119** 62.151*** 93.147***
– 2 log likelihood 352.818 392.873 328.840
*
P < 0.05;**P < 0.01;***P < 0.001.
Note: gender (male = 1, female = 0); presence of partner (yes = 1, no = 0); type of disability (impairment of limbs or the spinal cord = 1, due to injury of brain and related
motor control dysfunction = 0); area of residence (large city = 1, other = 0).

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 24 International Journal of Rehabilitation Research 2007, Vol 30 No 1
figure demonstrates that the problem of employment
among people with mobility disabilities in Korea lies in
not only a relatively low rate of employment, but also high
job instability, which we feel is related to the nature of
their employment.
Gender appeared to be a statistically significant factor
influencing employment. The fact that disabled females
have more difficulty in obtaining employment in Korea
has been demonstrated in other studies (Park, 1999; Yu,
2000). The rate of employment for Korean women with
disabilities was less than half of that of their male
counterparts (20.2 vs. 43.5%). This phenomenon is
probably related to the broader social milieu, where
women have experienced employment discrimination as
one aspect of the Confucian ideology, which, for the most
part, relegates women to roles within the home. In
addition, it seems that lower levels of education and lack
of suitable work environments are other factors that
interfere with the goal of increasing the rate of employ-
ment for disabled women.
In Korea at present, in order to encourage a higher rate of
employment for disabled women, the government sub-
sidises to firms who achieve employment levels above the
current compulsory 2%. Despite such efforts, however,
the problem of disabled women’s unemployment will not
be easy to solve given the structural factors relating
gender discrimination.
In this study, we found that other demographic char-
acteristics such as age, level of education and cohabita-
tion do not influence employment of the physically
disabled. These results are not consistent with pre-
vious studies which noted younger adults (Park, 1999;
Yu, 2000) those with higher educational attainment
(Yu, 2000) and those residing with a spouse or partner
(Lee, 1997; Yu, 2000) were more likely to report a higher
rates of employment.
Prior studies indicated that the degree of disability does
exert a notable influence on employment (Lee, 1997;
Park, 1999; Yu, 2000). In the present study, it appears that
people with less severe disability have a higher prob-
ability to be employed. This demonstrates that the
medical dimension of physical disability is still an
important factor concerning employment among the
disabled in Korea.
We also found that acceptance of disability had significant
influence on the possibility of employment, controlling
the degree of disability. Although it will be necessary to
conduct more in-depth studies on the topic of disability
acceptance, the authors initially conclude that it is
evident that disability acceptance is a vital point in the
process of vocational rehabilitation. This significant issue
Copyright © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
is not being addressed by disability programs in Korea at
present, but certainly needs to be. In 40% of all cases of
physical disability in Korea the age of onset is later than
30 years of age (KIHASA, 2001).
In terms of environmental factors influencing the
possibility of employment, the use of vocational rehabi-
litation services does not have a significant effect on
employment. This might be due to the fact that only a
few disabled persons (3.3%) have accessed the support of
professional rehabilitation services, demonstrating that
Korean vocational rehabilitation services are still under-
utilized and are targeting mainly those people with severe
disabilities.
We found that higher instrumental support of the family
or others results in a lower probability of employment.
This can be explained by the fact that material support
received from the family, or others, resolves much of any
economic hardship and thus decreases motivation for
employment, mirrored in a lower probability of employ-
ment. On the other hand, people with a high level of
informational support have a higher probability of
employment. These results suggest that role of the
formal services system in the employment process of
disabled people is insufficient.
In 1990, the Korean government enacted the ‘Disability
Employment Promotion and Vocational Rehabilitation
Act’ and developed various efforts to promote employ-
ment of disabled people. There still exists, however, a
situation that is far from the desired state, even when one
considers the targeted employment levels as set by the
government. Employment of people with disabilities is
still governed by their individual effort and skills, and
thus government needs to make more strenuous effort to
promote thoughtful engagement through the creation of a
competent rehabilitation services system.
The limitations of the presented study lie in the fact that
our participant sample was taken from disabled people in
area of Seoul and the province of Gyeonggi, and thus the
possibility of generalization of our result is limited. Also,
because so few of our respondents reported using
vocational rehabilitation services we were unable to
analyze particular factors concerning this program. Such
issues ought to be addressed in future studies.
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