“Improving access to information on household products” ... Korea Consumer Agency supports braille tags and safety education

[Financial News] To mark the 47th White Cane Day, the Korea Consumer Agency held a training session for students with visual impairments on identifying household products and using safety information. It also provided braille tags and stickers, household products and other items to improve access to product information for people with visual impairments.
According to industry sources on the 15th, the Korea Consumer Agency held safety education for students with visual impairments that day at Seoul National School for the Blind in Jongno-gu, Seoul, together with 18 companies from the Business Operators’ Regular Council. The training was part of the agency’s Support Project to Ensure the Daily Safety of People with Visual Impairments, which it has been carrying out since 2022. This year, for the first time, it supplemented the safety education with the provision of goods.
The training covered how to use QR codes and braille tags so students with visual impairments can identify products in their daily lives and use safety information. The educational materials were made into audio-described videos and provided to 13 schools for the blind across the country. They were also posted on the Media Accessibility Center for people with visual impairments and on platforms including the “Library That Tells Happiness” app.
Support was also provided to help people identify household products. A total of 6,255 sets of three types of reusable braille tags, designed to hang on containers such as those for detergent and shampoo, and 10,000 braille stickers that can be attached to small products such as cosmetics were produced and distributed. Household products and food items featuring braille and QR codes, as well as appliances with voice guidance, among other goods worth a total of 180 million won, were delivered through the Korean Federation of the Blind to households of people with visual impairments nationwide and to Seoul National School for the Blind.
Companies participating in the Business Operators’ Regular Council continue efforts to improve information accessibility, including adding braille to product containers, providing product information through QR codes, and expanding voice guidance features on home appliances.
Jung Hyun-hee, director of the Consumer Safety Center at the Korea Consumer Agency, said, “By working with the Business Operators’ Regular Council, we have been able to continue this meaningful support for the fifth year. We will continue to work to ensure that all consumers, including people with visual impairments, can live safely.”

[email protected] Kim Hyun-ji Reporter