Disability rights group to temporarily halt subway protests to demand budget increase

▲ Park Kyoung-seok, the 63-year-old leader of the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD), protests to officials after being blocked from entering the subway station platform in city hall on Nov. 30, 2023. (Yonhap)

disability rights group-subway protest

Disability rights group to temporarily halt subway protests to demand budget increase

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- A disability rights advocacy group said Friday it will temporarily halt subway protests until an increased budget on expanding mobility rights of the disabled is reflected in next year's budget.

The Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD) replaced the usual subway-riding protests with a silent performance on Friday, with activists holding pickets demanding mobility rights for the disabled, on the platform of Seoul's Hyehwa Station at 8 a.m.

Park Kyoung-seok, the 63-year-old leader of the group, said the silent protest embodied their demands to pass the budget to expand special transportation for the disabled, including call taxis, while pleading for public support in passing the budget.

Park, along with some 10 activists, tried to enter the subway platform but failed after Seoul Metro officials blocked them from entry, citing violations of the Railroad Safety Act.

Following the resumption of subway protests last week, the subway operator announced measures to ban all subway protests by the group, including heading off the group's entry into subway stations with the help of the police, and taking legal action against all illegal acts.

The disability rights group has been staging multiple rallies this week ahead of the International Day of Disabled Persons on Sunday, including an overnight sit-in at Marronnier Park in Seoul the previous day.

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