Disability rights group resumes subway protest, demands budget guarantees

The Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination staged a subway protest Thursday morning, resuming demonstrations after a six-month hiatus.

Commuter disruption had been anticipated, but the group timed its action to avoid peak rush hour and no major delays were reported.

About 60 activists, divided into groups of 10, boarded six separate cars on Line 1 at City Hall Station at around 8:50 a.m. Thursday, rode one stop and disembarked at Seoul Station at around 8:53 a.m. in what the group called its 69th "Ride the Subway to Work" protest.

The train was moderately crowded, with some passengers standing, but all activists using wheelchairs were able to board without difficulty.

Park Gyeong-seok, the group's representative, said the protest was not solely about elevator access. "We are here to talk about the full scope of mobility rights for people with disabilities," he said, calling on the government to include funding for disability rights guarantees in next year's budget.

The group is demanding that the Ministry of Planning and Budget reflect disability rights funding in the national budget, and is urging the Seoul Metropolitan Government to reverse the dismissal of 400 workers in rights-centered public employment positions.

The group had suspended its subway protests after Jan. 2 and resumed them Thursday after a six-month pause.

On Wednesday, the group also resumed its regular bus boarding protests at a bus stop near Hyehwa Rotary in Jongno-gu, snarling downtown traffic for about an hour during the morning commute.

Seoul Metro cordoned off sections of the City Hall Station platform and broadcast announcements demanding that protesters stop and leave the station, while asking passengers to follow staff guidance for safe movement.