[WORD_ON_THE_WEB] 'Protests are inconvenient, but improvements are needed'

Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD) plans to restart protests advocating for accessibility rights for people with disabilities.

SADD members had stopped their protests, which were held in subway stations at commuting hours, after president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition committee agreed to listen to their concerns. The group is now restarting protests after the committee's response was deemed insufficient.

The transmission committee has released some policies regarding the matter, including providing coupons or vouchers to help with transport fees and earmarking more funds for taxi services that cater to people with impairments.

But these proposals do nothing to address the insufficient infrastructure for people with impairments, SADD says.

President Moon Jae-in also spoke out about the issue, saying; “We should blame our ignorance for their hardship.”

#improvements_needed
“I don’t know about their other claims, but the taxi service for people with impairments could use some improvements. They don’t cross regional boundaries, and they’re painfully slow.”
“The subway protests are inconvenient, but improvements are needed.”

#Moon_has_no_say
“Moon is nearing the end of his term, but he has no right to say such things. This is the result of him failing to solve the problem for five years.”
“Moon has no right to say anything. I know he had some policies for the disabled, but the SADD protests started during his term.”

#stop_being_so_stubborn
“Couldn't they react after observing the situation some more? We exist together as a society. It almost seems like they are just being stubborn without listening to what others need to say.”
“Why do they disagree with everything that is not their own idea? They need to be more open to discussion.”

BY LEE SI-YEOUNG, YOO JI-WOO [yoo.jiwoo@joongang.co.kr]