Video of elderly man trying to drag young woman from subway priority seat stirs controversy

A video showing a young woman and an elderly man in a physical altercation over a priority seat on Seoul Subway Line 2 has spread online, stirring controversy.

The footage, titled "Line 2 priority seat controversy," was posted Wednesday on Threads and other social media platforms.

In the video, an elderly man in a fedora points at a young woman in a hoodie sitting in a priority seat and demands she move.

The woman waves him off and says, "Just go. Go."

The elderly man then shouts and grabs the woman by the collar, attempting to drag her from the seat. The woman cries out, "Ow! What are you doing!" before kicking him in the thigh several times.

Online reactions were divided. Some commenters said the woman went too far — "Even so, kicking an elder is a bit much" and "Kicking him isn't right" — while others sided with her: "It's a courtesy seat, not a mandatory one," "The old man pointed at her and used violence first," "It's a seat for people with mobility difficulties, not just the elderly," and "Sitting in the priority seat was wrong, but so was the grandfather who assaulted her."

Priority seats on the subway are designated to encourage passengers to yield to those with mobility difficulties; yielding is not a legal obligation.