South Korea’s Supreme Court says cinemas must provide audio description and subtitles for disabled audiences

South Korea’s Supreme Court has sent back a case involving three major cinema chains after ruling that inadequate subtitles and audio description can discriminate against people with disabilities.

The case was brought by four people with visual or hearing impairments against CGV, Lotte Cultureworks and Megabox Central. They sought subtitles, audio description and other services to protect disabled people’s right to watch films in cinemas.

A lower court had ruled that cinemas with at least 300 seats only needed to provide subtitles and audio description for 3% of their total screenings. The Supreme Court’s First Division rejected that approach and returned the case to the Seoul High Court for a new trial, saying the lower court had placed excessive weight on the defendants’ financial burden.

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The lower court should also have examined whether there were ways to reduce the defendants’ financial burden while enabling disabled people to enjoy films in cinemas equally with non-disabled people and together with them.

The Supreme Court said the lower court should also have examined whether the multiplexes could reduce that burden while allowing disabled people to enjoy films on equal terms with non-disabled people, including alongside other audiences.

The court also issued an easy-to-read version of its ruling for the first time. Presiding Justice Cheon Dae-yeop explained the decision in simpler language in court, saying that parts of the original ruling had been incorrect and that the case would return to the Seoul High Court for reconsideration. The hearing also provided on-screen captions and sign-language interpretation.

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There were parts of the original ruling that were decided incorrectly. The case will be sent back to the Seoul High Court for a new trial.