Jeonjangyeon to suspend subway rides until the 19th... Will resume if meeting with Oh fails

Only Election Campaigning Held at Hyehwa Station

Park Kyung-seok, Co-Executive Director of the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Disability Discrimination, is briefing on the results of a meeting with the Head of Operations at Seoul Metro on the afternoon of the 4th at Jeonjangyeon in Jongno-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Taewon] The National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Jeonjangyeon) has decided to suspend its subway boarding protests until the 19th.

Jeonjangyeon announced that on the 4th, starting around 2 p.m., they held a meeting with Seoul Metro Corporation (Gongsa) at their office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, for about an hour and reached this agreement. Park Kyung-seok, co-executive director of Jeonjangyeon, said after the meeting, "We have agreed to a cooling-off period until the 19th," adding, "We requested an apology regarding the unmet promises of elevator installations in the subway up to last year and sought a meeting with the Seoul Mayor."

However, Jeonjangyeon stated that if a meeting with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon fails to materialize, they will resume the subway boarding protests. Park said, "If a meeting with the mayor is not scheduled, we will start taking the subway during the morning commute from the 20th," adding, "Until then, we will not board the subway and will only conduct publicity campaigns for citizens at Hyehwa Station."

Since 2021, Jeonjangyeon has been conducting subway boarding protests demanding the guarantee of mobility rights for persons with disabilities and the inclusion of disability rights in the budget. According to Seoul Metro Corporation, Jeonjangyeon began their subway boarding protest on January 22, 2021, at Seoul Station on Line 4, and caused subway delays a total of 82 times until the end of last year.

The protests were temporarily suspended after Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon proposed a truce on December 20 last year. However, when only 1.06 billion won, or 0.8%, of the disability rights budget requested by Jeonjangyeon was reflected in the budget passed last year, they resumed protests on the 2nd.

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