Hana Financial Group is expanding renovations of ageing facilities and vehicle support to guarantee mobility rights for people with disabilities.

Hana said on Sunday it will carry out renovation work and provide vehicles for disability welfare facilities. The programme aims to prevent safety accidents and risks of human rights violations at ageing disability facilities, and to improve mobility for facilities located on city outskirts with low access to welfare services.

From this year, it also widened eligibility. It said all types of disability welfare facilities under Article 58 of the Welfare of Disabled Persons Act, including residential facilities and vocational, medical and community rehabilitation facilities, as well as independent living support facilities for people with disabilities, can apply.

It also expanded the types of vehicles supported. It newly introduced a "wheelchair-lift small car" so people with disabilities who use mobility aids such as wheelchairs can use vehicles more conveniently.

Facilities eligible for renovation support are those that have been open for at least 10 years, are covered by fire insurance for the building, have no relocation plans within 5 years, and have not received support for similar projects from companies or local governments in the past 3 years.

Vehicle support targets facilities that have been open for at least 3 years and need to replace vehicles due to ageing fleets. They must not have received support for similar projects through companies or local governments in the past 5 years.

Hana plans to select beneficiary facilities after evaluation by a review committee made up of academics and field experts and on-site inspections. It will choose 20 facilities for renovation support and 15 for vehicle support after considering factors including the number of residents, the share of people with severe disabilities, facility location, urgency of support and expected effects.

An official at Hana's ESG Planning Team said it expanded both the range of beneficiaries and the scale of support from last year so more people with disabilities can enjoy safer and more comfortable daily lives. The official said it will continue to pursue field-focused ESG management activities to protect the human rights of people with disabilities and promote their welfare.