Jeonjangeon Temporarily Suspends Subway Protests... "Accepts Mayor Oh's 'Ceasefire Proposal'"

Members of the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities held a press conference on the 5th at Samgak Station on Subway Line 4 in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, urging the expansion of the budget for disability rights. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Jeonjangyeon) will suspend its subway protests during rush hours.

Jeonjangyeon announced in a statement that day, "We will stop the 253rd day of subway advocacy until the budget is reflected in the National Assembly," and added, "We actively accept Mayor Oh Se-hoon's proposal for a truce."

They also added, "We earnestly request Mayor Oh to sincerely implement the recently enacted 'Seoul Metropolitan Government Ordinance on Support for Deinstitutionalization and Community Settlement of Persons with Disabilities.'"

Earlier, Mayor Oh posted on Facebook a message titled "Proposal for a Truce in Jeonjangyeon's Subway Boarding Protest," asking, "Please suspend the protests until the National Assembly passes the budget bill."

Mayor Oh explained, "The reason Jeonjangyeon resumed the subway boarding protests is the delay in the National Assembly's approval of the disability budget bill, but the delay in next year's budget bill is not because of dislike towards Jeonjangyeon, but because the ruling and opposition parties are confronting each other due to various political incidents."

He also issued a warning message regarding the subway boarding protests. Mayor Oh said, "While Jeonjangyeon's 'demand for prompt budget approval' itself cannot be blamed, the general consensus is that it is difficult to understand why the method of urging budget approval should cause inconvenience to law-abiding citizens on their way to work."

Jeonjangyeon has been conducting advocacy by repeatedly boarding and alighting subways during rush hours, demanding the government and National Assembly to reflect the disability rights budget.

As train operation delays became frequent due to this, the city recently decided, in collaboration with Seoul Metro, Korail, and the Railroad Police, to have trains pass through affected stations without stopping if severe delays occur. Accordingly, on the 14th of this month, the train passed through Samgakji Station without stopping for the first time.

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