Protest by disabled group didn't affect subways Tuesday

Social Affairs

Published: 13 Dec. 2022, 18:50 Updated: 13 Dec. 2022, 18:55

Protest by disabled group didn't affect subways Tuesday

Members of the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination board a subway train at Samgakji Station in central Seoul on Tuesday as part of a protest demanding more spending on people with disabilities. [YONHAP]

Protests in subway trains and stations by an advocacy group for the disabled did not affect subway operations on Tuesday after the Seoul city government took a tough stance on the illegal protest.

The Yoon Suk-yeol government has vowed to crack down on illegal protests that inconvenience people and disrupt economic activities.

The Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD) held two demonstrations at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m Tuesday at Samgakji station, a major transfer hub for Seoul Metro lines 4 and 6, but no major disruption was caused.

SADD has been holding protests during morning and evening rush hours since Dec. 3, 2021 to demand more be spent by the government on people with disabilities. From Monday to Thursday, the group planned protests in Samgakji Station near the presidential office.

This was the group's 47th protest staged in subway trains. The frequency has increased since Yoon took office in May.

The protests have frustrated commuters as people in wheelchairs deliberated delayed subway operations by taking a long time to get on trains.

On Monday, the Seoul Metropolitan Government warned that trains would bypass stations "in case of severe delays" caused by the protests.

The city government and Seoul Metro, the operator of the capital’s subway system, cited bylaws of metro traffic management as the legal grounds for ordering trains to go through stations without stopping. According to Article 62 of the Metro Traffic Control Bylaws and Article 37 of the Operational Specifications of Business Establishments and Stations, if there is a concern about passenger safety due to passenger congestion, disturbances, or unusual situations like a fire, the train driver or stationmaster may consult or report to the general control center to have the train pass through the station without stopping.

“We believe SADD’s protest is considered a disturbance or an unusual situation,” Cho Kyu-joo, head of the Sales Planning Department at the Seoul Metro, said in a phone call with the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Subways in Seoul operated normally on Tuesday with no major disruptions.

"We have held subway-riding protests 47 times since Dec. 3 last year,” SADD leader Park Kyoung-seok said in a press conference Tuesday morning. “We ask for the passage of a budget for disability rights at the National Assembly's plenary session on Thursday and then we will not stage such protests anymore." Lawmakers will be voting on next year’s budget on Thursday.

Two activists from SADD, including Park, continued their campaigns in wheelchairs after boarding a train at Samgakji Station at 8:20 a.m. Tuesday. They did not employ their usual tactic of using their wheelchair to delay the closing of the train's doors.

“There were two activists in today’s protest," Seoul Metro official Cho said, "and they did not use the tactic of intentionally delaying train operations.”

According to Seoul Metro, seven to ten minutes of delays were reported at Samgakji Station as of 9:20 a.m., but they weren’t caused by the protest.

While SADD seemed to have backed down on Tuesday, it said if its demands are not met on Thursday, they will carry out more robust subway protests on Jan. 2.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]