Budget minister urges disability rights group to halt rush-hour protests

Minister of Planning and Budget Park Hong-keun publicly urged the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, known by its Korean acronym Jeongjangnyeon, to stop its rush-hour subway and bus protests. He made clear that the government would expand support for the mobility and labor rights of people with disabilities but would not let protest intensity dictate budget decisions or review standards.

Park posted a message on Facebook on Wednesday titled "We must protect both the rights of people with disabilities and the daily lives of citizens," asking Jeongjangnyeon to "stop staging protests that repeatedly disrupt the normal operation of subways and buses and cause inconvenience to commuters and other members of the public."

Park said the group's morning subway protests had continued for three weeks, and that on Tuesday commuters were again inconvenienced when Line 1 and Line 4 trains passed through Seoul Station without stopping. He also noted that the lobby of a building where he occasionally works had been occupied, a tent encampment had been set up at its entrance, and protests had been held outside the home of the Minister of Health and Welfare's family.

"Calls for guaranteeing the rights of people with disabilities must of course be respected," Park said, "but that cannot come at the expense of the rights of people without disabilities or in violation of the nation's laws." He added that "the mobility rights of people with disabilities and the daily lives of all citizens must be protected together."

Park also outlined plans to expand disability-related spending, saying he was personally reviewing programs to guarantee the basic rights of people with disabilities — including mobility and labor rights — as part of next year's budget process. He said the government would increase support through measures including strengthening vocational rehabilitation services for people with severe disabilities, expanding daytime and after-school activity services for people with developmental disabilities, building out integrated care services for those with the most severe developmental disabilities, and increasing disability pensions and job opportunities.

On the issue of disability call-taxi support, which Jeongjangnyeon has demanded, Park said the government bears responsibility. He explained that while the service was transferred to local governments along with its budget in 2005, subsequent revisions to relevant laws have required the central government to provide annual funding for vehicle purchases and a portion of operating costs.

Park was firm, however, that protests must not become a tool to pressure the government into increasing its budget. "Government budgets are not a subject for negotiation determined by the intensity of rallies or demonstrations," he said. "Necessary disability policies and budgets will be reviewed responsibly based on the lives of people with disabilities, policy necessity, project feasibility and fiscal principles."

He added that the government would equally refuse to change its budget principles or review criteria in response to protests or sit-ins that disrupt subway or bus operations.

Jeongjangnyeon had previously said it would continue its daily morning subway protests until the minister of planning and budget responded. Park said he had been conveying the government's position through various figures in civil society and other channels.

Jeongjangnyeon canceled its morning subway protest on Wednesday. "Fortunately, we were informed that the morning subway protest on Wednesday would be canceled," Park said.

Park said the government would press ahead with policies to expand the rights of people with disabilities. "Our efforts to more fully guarantee the right of people with disabilities to move and to work will continue without wavering," he said, while urging Jeongjangnyeon to publicly commit to respecting the law and not disrupting the daily lives of citizens. "Subway and bus boarding protests that cause significant inconvenience to busy commuters are no longer winning public sympathy," he said.

"Only then will the public feel solidarity with and support for efforts to advance the rights of people with disabilities," Park said, "and the government will have the justification to run tirelessly to better guarantee the mobility and labor rights of people with disabilities."