Seven in 10 disabled Koreans are jobless: report

Notifications about the minimum wage in 2026 are seen outside an employment and welfare center in Seoul on Dec. 31. (Yonhap)

Fewer than 3 in 10 South Koreans with physical or mental disabilities were employed in 2024, and nearly half of those who did work earned less than 2 million won ($1,380) a month, a report by a state-affiliated think tank showed Monday.

The employment rate stood at 28.9 percent, according to a survey by the Korea Disabled People’s Development Institute, with joblessness widespread across both genders.

About 66.9 percent of men and 76.5 percent of women said they were not working at the time of the census. Unemployment was especially acute among people with brain lesions and mental disorders, at 90.1 percent and 89.8 percent, respectively.

The seventh edition of the survey, conducted between October and December 2024, covered 4,702 people with disabilities and their household members.

Even among those who had jobs, employment was rarely stable. About 27.6 percent held temporary jobs, while 22.8 percent were self-employed without hired workers, and 8.8 percent worked on a day-to-day basis.

Short working hours were also common.

Roughly 23.4 percent of wage earners worked fewer than 36 hours a week, citing limitations related to their disability (36.2 percent), hourly-based hiring practices in their industry (28 percent), and difficulty finding full-time employment (15.9 percent).

Earnings remained low for many. Nearly half of employed people with disabilities earned less than 2 million won a month, below the 2.06 million won earned by a minimum-wage worker on a standard 40-hour week in 2024.

About 28.9 percent earned between 1 million and under 2 million won, while 20.7 percent made less than 1 million won a month.

By contrast, the average monthly wage in South Korea was 3.73 million won in 2024, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

Only 16.7 percent of people with disabilities earned 3 million won or more during the same period.

The report attributed the low employment rate in part to perceived work incapacity. Among non-working respondents, 84 percent said they felt unable to work, and 71.9 percent said they were not seeking employment.