Korean Disabled activists stage surprise subway protest in downtown Seoul on national disability day

From Yonhap News & Barrier Free Japan

April 20 2023

SEOUL – A disability rights advocacy group on Thursday 20th April staged a surprise “subway-riding” protest at one of Seoul’s busiest subway stations to mark the 43rd Day of Persons with Disabilities, causing train delays for about 15 minutes.

About 10 members of the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD) conducted the subway-riding protest at Myeongdong Station on Subway Line 4, beginning at 8 a.m., without any prior notice, disrupting train operations for 14 minutes until 8:30 a.m.

After a standoff with police for about 10 minutes, the activists boarded a southbound train and got off at Yeouinaru Station on Line 5 in the Yeouido district, where the government’s Day of Persons with Disabilities ceremony was about to begin.

Demanding an increased budget for disabled people and their mobility rights, SADD has staged protests at major subway stations in central Seoul on and off, where wheelchair-bound activists repeatedly board and disembark trains, disrupting metro services during the morning rush hour.

About 50 SADD members also staged a separate subway-riding protest at Samgakji Station on Line 4, which is close to the presidential office in Yongsan, beginning at around 8 a.m., as previously announced.

The activists demonstrated for about 30 minutes amid a confrontation with about 200 police and Seoul Metro officials before heading to Yeouido. Train delays were not reported at Samgakji Station during their protests.

Park Kyoung-seok, the 63-year-old leader of the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, had previously been arrested for similar protests, most recently in March 2023.