Woman recovering from surgery assaulted on subway for sitting in priority seat

A woman who had just undergone surgery says she was assaulted by an elderly passenger after sitting in a priority seat on the Seoul subway, sparking widespread outrage online.

A video posted Tuesday by a woman identified only as A on Threads and other online communities shows her account of being attacked by an elderly woman while riding the subway home.

According to A, the incident occurred on a Line 2 train heading toward Jamsilsaenae Station. Feeling unwell after her surgery, she had taken a seat in the priority section when an elderly woman asked her, "Are you elderly or disabled? Are you pregnant?" The woman then turned to A's husband, who was seated beside her, and asked whether she was "flirting with her boyfriend."

A said she explained she was on her way home after surgery, but the elderly woman responded with verbal abuse, told her to give up her seat and struck her in the face.

When A began recording the confrontation on her phone, the elderly woman continued throwing punches and warned, "You'd better not post that," adding, "How dare you try to take my photo."

When a nearby passenger intervened and asked why she was hitting someone, the elderly woman replied, "She's trying to take my picture," and continued her verbal tirade.

A said she filed a police report against the elderly woman and thanked other elderly passengers nearby who had stepped in to help. "I was in tears getting off the subway," she said. "I need to be recovering, but the surgical site is aching even more now, and I'm emotionally worn out."

Priority seats on Seoul's subway are not reserved exclusively for the elderly. They are designated for people with mobility difficulties, including those with disabilities, people aged 65 or older, pregnant women, those accompanied by young children under age 5, and injured passengers. The seats were renamed from "elderly and disabled seats" to "priority seats for the mobility-impaired" in 2005 to reflect their broader intended use.