[On-site Video] "A Society Neglecting People with Developmental Disabilities Is Also a Potential Murderer"... Disability Groups Set Up Memorial Altar at Samgakji Station

[Asia Economy PD Yoon Jin-geun] “A mother embraced her six-year-old child and died together by falling!”, “You all must also mourn this death!”

The National Parents' Solidarity for Persons with Disabilities (Parents' Solidarity) set up a memorial altar at the Samgak Station platform on Seoul Subway Line 4 on the afternoon of the 26th to honor a person with developmental disabilities and their guardian after a collision with Seoul Metro employees.

On the 27th, a memorial altar was set up on the platform of Samgakji Station on Seoul Subway Line 4 to honor people with developmental disabilities and their guardians. Photo by Jin-geun Yoon, PD yoon@

On that day, starting around 1 p.m., Parents' Solidarity attempted to install a memorial altar near the presidential office of President Yoon Seok-yeol at Samgak Station on Seoul Subway Line 4 to honor recently deceased persons with developmental disabilities and their guardians.

On the 23rd of this month, in an apartment in Seoul, a 40-year-old mother and her six-year-old son, who was receiving treatment for developmental disabilities, jumped to their deaths from their home. On the same day in Incheon, a woman in her 60s killed her severely disabled daughter, whom she had cared for over 30 years, and then attempted suicide herself; only the daughter died in the incident.

In response, Parents' Solidarity announced on the 25th through a press release that they would set up a memorial altar to honor them. However, Seoul Metro Corporation, which operates and manages the Seoul subway, denied permission to install the altar citing passenger safety concerns.

The corporation repeatedly warned Parents' Solidarity that obstructing official duties could lead to punishment. On that day, employees of the corporation had severe conflicts with activists from Parents' Solidarity who were trying to set up the altar. During this process, members of Parents' Solidarity protested, leading to multiple intense clashes between both sides.

On the 27th, employees of Seoul Metro and participants affiliated with the National Parents Association of Persons with Disabilities are having a scuffle at Samgakji Station on Seoul Subway Line 4. Photo by Jin-geun Yoon PD yoon@

During the confrontation, Parents' Solidarity members linked arms and lay down on the platform floor to prevent corporation employees from approaching. One participant from Parents' Solidarity experienced hyperventilation symptoms and was transported to a medical facility by paramedics who arrived on the scene.

Kim Jong-ok (60), director of the National Parents' Solidarity for Persons with Disabilities, said, “We came here to convey that although we have tried hard for the parents of the deceased persons with developmental disabilities, we have done something we could not bear to do by setting up this small memorial altar in this narrow passage at Samgak Station.” He protested, “This small altar is only about 1 meter wide, and we only want to set it up for one week. Are you stopping us?”

Seoul Metro security officers are physically blocking participants of the National Parents of Disabled Persons Solidarity from entering. Photo by Jin-geun Yoon PD yoon@

Later, Parents' Solidarity installed the memorial altar around 1:45 p.m. Kim said, “We continuously propose policies to the government to reduce the difficulties and suffering experienced by 250,000 persons with developmental disabilities and their families nationwide, from elementary school age to old age.” He added, “The government has never taken the initiative to solve these issues first.” He further demanded, “Since we (families of persons with developmental disabilities) know best what is needed, please create a responsible table to quickly alleviate this suffering.”

Parents' Solidarity also set up a temporary memorial altar in front of the residence of Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, around 3 p.m., and at about 5:30 p.m., approximately 350 people held a memorial march from Hanti Station toward Gangnam Station.

Meanwhile, the organization announced that after a meeting with the station master of Samgak Station that afternoon, they agreed to maintain the memorial altar for one week as planned.

※ If you need professional help for difficult issues such as depression, you can receive 24-hour counseling through the suicide prevention hotline ☎1577-0199, suicide prevention counseling phone ☎1393, mental health counseling phone ☎1577-0199, Hope Call ☎129, Life Line ☎1588-9191, Youth Phone ☎1388, Youth Mobile Counseling app 'I Will Listen' and KakaoTalk, among others.

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