"Discomfort Among Good Citizens"... Lee Jun-seok's Flood of Criticism on 'Divide-and-Rule Politics'

Lee Jun-seok "Must Abandon Dogmatism and Self-Righteousness" Criticizes Consecutive Disabled Protests
"Repeating the Same Actions That Divided Women and Men"
"Neglecting the Role Politics Should Play... Blaming Citizens for Conflict Causes"

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, has been making aggressive remarks day after day toward the National Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (Jeonjangyeon), which is conducting subway protests during the morning commute demanding the guarantee of mobility rights for people with disabilities. Kim Ye-ji, a visually impaired lawmaker from the same party, attended the protest and issued a "kneeling apology," showing no signs of backing down despite criticism that it divides citizens and people with disabilities. This has sparked strong criticism as it contrasts with the party’s stance of solidarity with socially vulnerable groups and national unity.

Since the 25th, Lee has criticized Jeonjangyeon through Facebook and other channels, saying things like "holding citizens hostage" and "must abandon self-righteousness and stubbornness." He also stated, "If the protests continue, I will go to the site and confront them," and suggested a partisan interpretation of the mobility rights protests that have continued for over 20 years, saying, "It is puzzling that protests have continued since Mayor Oh Se-hoon took office, citing the failure to fulfill promises made during Park Won-soon’s administration for the mobility rights of people with disabilities."

On the 26th, he mentioned 'underdogma,' saying, "The greatest danger of minority politics is creating a sanctuary where no single objection can be raised." Underdogma refers to the phenomenon of judging that the weak are always good and the strong are always evil. In other words, it argues that just because people with disabilities are protesting does not mean it is inherently good.

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 28th, he said, "The method of causing inconvenience to the largest number of decent citizens to enforce one’s will is unacceptable in a civilized society," adding, "If this is tolerated, society will become an abnormal arena of competition that causes the greatest fear and inconvenience rather than rational discussion or dialogue on all issues." He thus framed the issue of mobility rights for people with disabilities, which should be resolved politically, as a conflict between "decent citizens who suffer" and "self-righteous disability groups."

He also claimed, "The elevator installation rate in Seoul’s subway is already 93.0%. According to this year’s plan, it will reach 94.9%," arguing that despite political efforts for the mobility rights of people with disabilities, Jeonjangyeon continues protests that hold citizens hostage.

On the morning of the 28th, Kim Ye-ji, a member of the People Power Party, is speaking at the nationwide Disabled Persons Discrimination Abolition Solidarity's morning commute protest that began at Gyeongbokgung Station on Seoul Subway Line 3.
Photo by Kang Joo-hee kjh818@asiae.co.kr

Lee’s remarks drew criticism accusing him of 'hate politics' that divide people with and without disabilities. Choi Hye-young, a spinal cord injury lawmaker from the Democratic Party, held a press conference with Jeonjangyeon at the National Assembly on the 25th, strongly criticizing, "Despite being criticized by the public for inciting hatred in the 20th presidential election, instead of reflecting, they again divided people with and without disabilities," and added, "Using words like hostage, captivity, and absurdity to describe the demands of disability groups for mobility rights and even demanding action from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency causes deep fear toward the new government."

Jang Hye-young, a lawmaker from the Justice Party, also wrote on Facebook, "The reason people with disabilities are protesting is because the People Power Party and Lee Jun-seok himself have neglected the disability rights budget," and pointed out, "Lee Jun-seok’s dereliction of duty and audacity, who persistently repeats only the elevator installation rate like a parrot while ignoring the core demands of the protests and obsessing over discrediting the protesters, is the very cause that forces the protests."

Lee had previously been criticized during the presidential election process for gender division by making anti-feminist remarks and policies to secure male voter support. Although the regime change was successful, the narrow margin of 0.73 percentage points over the Democratic Party led to calls for Lee’s responsibility for the 'narrow victory.'

Kim Ye-ji, a visually impaired lawmaker from the People Power Party, visited the Jeonjangyeon protest at Gyeongbokgung Station on the 28th and issued a "kneeling apology" regarding Lee’s remarks. She said, "As a politician, I deeply feel responsible and apologize for the fact that only a major incident draws media attention and political interest. I am sorry for not understanding, not empathizing, and failing to communicate with appropriate words."

However, Lee maintains a tough stance toward Jeonjangyeon despite such criticism. After the Supreme Council meeting that day, he told reporters, "She acted in a personal capacity," and "I have no plans to apologize." On Facebook, he repeatedly targeted Jeonjangyeon, saying, "The Yoon Seok-yeol government must not leave a wrong precedent that illegal protests are necessary to have opinions reflected."

Kim Ji-hak, director of the Korea Diversity Research Institute, pointed out that politics, which should solve social inequality, is shifting responsibility to citizens and continuing a 'hate framing' approach.

Kim said, "He is repeating the same behavior of dividing women and men that he showed during the presidential election," and criticized, "The biggest cause of social conflicts is usually budget. Although the political sphere has the authority and responsibility to solve these problems, it is avoiding responsibility by blaming people with disabilities for the conflicts."

He continued, "Guaranteeing mobility rights for people with disabilities is not only for them. Elderly people, non-disabled people with physical difficulties or heavy luggage also use subway elevators. They have taken to protests because these issues have not been resolved despite long-standing struggles. Politics’ role is to strive to reflect these needs in budgets for policies not only on mobility rights but also education and living support. Instead, it is fueling hatred toward people with disabilities and intensifying those emotions. The targets of this hatred have always been socially vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, women, and migrants," he pointed out.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.