Shinjehye Hit by Spit During 'Commute Protest': "The Hellgate of Discrimination Opened by Lee Junseok Has Been Unleashed"

Resumption of Jeonjangyeon 'Morning Subway Protest' on the 21st
Shin Ji-hye Confesses to Being Spat on by a Passerby During Solidarity Speech at Protest
"Lee Jun-seok's Hate Speech Blaming Disabled People as Uncivilized Beings to Blame"
Earlier, Jeonjangyeon Also Confessed to "Ongoing Cyber Attacks, Verbal Abuse, and Arson Threats Against Activists"

Members of the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Jeonjangyeon) are staging a boarding protest on the Seoul Subway Line 3 at Gyeongbokgung Station on the 21st, urging the securing of a budget for disability rights. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] On the 21st, as the subway protest by the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Jeonjangyeon) resumed nationwide, Shin Ji-hye, the Standing Representative of the Basic Income Party, who was attending the protest and giving a solidarity speech, revealed that a passerby spat on her. Earlier, Jeonjangyeon also confessed to suffering from verbal abuse, threats, and violence directed at their activists.

Representative Shin posted on her Facebook that "a person approached, took off their mask, and spat on me. I cannot forget the expression on their face at that moment," adding, "If there had been no activists around to stop him, I would have been fully exposed to even worse violence."

She further claimed that such behavior stemmed from remarks made by Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party. She said, "The power that enabled anyone participating in the protest to be subjected to violence came from the People Power Party," and criticized, "Today, Lee labeled the subway protest as 'uncivilized.' His hateful inciting remarks support stigmatizing discriminated disabled people as uncivilized beings and treating them carelessly."

She then shared her reflections on the protest that day. Representative Shin said, "Today's protest was more miserable than other days I have participated. Jeonjangyeon members got off the subway in wheelchairs and performed prostrations with all four limbs to exit. We faced the tragic reality in 2022 where we have to crawl on hands and feet to demand the guarantee of disabled rights." She added, "What was even more miserable was that the number of people shouting and cursing while watching this desperate protest noticeably increased. It is as if the gates of hell were opened, tolerating the discriminatory remarks fired by Lee."

Regarding Lee's remarks labeling the subway protest as 'uncivilized,' Representative Shin stated, "The subway protest during the morning commute is setting a new standard of 'civilization,'" and urged, "We need the power of the people until everyone regains peaceful daily life and the guarantee of everyone's rights is expanded."

Disabled activists from the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against the Disabled (Jeonjangyeon), who resumed subway boarding protests, are holding a closing rally for their 1-night, 2-day intensive sit-in near the Presidential Transition Committee in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 21st. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, Jeonjangyeon also appealed that violence was being inflicted on their activists. Park Kyung-seok, the representative of Jeonjangyeon, announced via Facebook in February that their homepage server was down due to a concentrated cyberattack, and Google Drive files were deleted. He also revealed that some citizens verbally abused and threatened disability rights activists or came to Jeonjangyeon's office threatening to set it on fire.

Meanwhile, Jeonjangyeon's subway protest, which had been suspended for 22 days, resumed on this day. They had halted the protest on the 30th of last month while waiting for a response from the Presidential Transition Committee regarding the disability rights budget, but resumed the protest because the committee ultimately did not provide an official response, according to their claim.

During the protest, Representative Park asked Choo Kyung-ho, the nominee for Minister of Strategy and Finance, about his stance on the disability rights budget. He said, "Now, nominee Choo must answer at the confirmation hearing on May 2," and added, "If nominee Choo promises to announce his position on the disability rights budget, we will trust that promise and stop the 'morning subway ride' protest until the day of the announcement."

He further stated, "If he does not make that promise, we will inevitably continue the 'morning subway ride' protest daily at Gyeongbokgung Station until we receive a response," and warned, "We will also carry out daily head-shaving protests until the Yoon Seok-yeol government is inaugurated on May 10."

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