Oh Se-hoon and Jeon Jang-yeon Meeting Fails... Subway Protest Scheduled to Resume on the 20th

'Joint vs Solo' Position Gap Cause
Seoul City "No Tolerance for Subway Protests"

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Ye-ju] The meeting between Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and the National Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (Jeonjangyeon) ultimately failed to narrow their differences. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Transportation Corporation urged for a joint meeting and warned that if the protest scheduled for the 20th resumes, they will no longer show tolerance.

Jeonjangyeon requested a meeting with Mayor Oh Se-hoon on the 19th and suspended their subway boarding protest until that day. Mayor Oh had initially agreed to meet by that day, but during the pre-meeting coordination process, both sides set conditions and engaged in a power struggle, resulting in the failure to hold the meeting.

Jeonjangyeon presented issues such as acceptance of the court's mediation proposal and an apology for disabled people who died in lift fall accidents, insisting that the meeting should be held solely with the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

On the other hand, the Seoul Metropolitan Government argued that since other disability organizations' opinions should be heard on issues like deinstitutionalization, a joint meeting was necessary.

Jeonjangyeon accepted the last-minute proposal for a closed meeting but refused a joint meeting until the end, while the Seoul Metropolitan Government did not back down from a joint meeting including other disability organizations.

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 Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

However, the Seoul Metropolitan Government stated that it is open to rescheduling a joint meeting after the 19th and that dialogue is possible if Jeonjangyeon accepts.

Accordingly, Jeonjangyeon is expected to either renegotiate a meeting with Mayor Oh Se-hoon or, if that proves difficult, resume the subway boarding protest after the Lunar New Year holiday. If this happens, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is likely to respond with a 'total blockade' as before, and conflicts such as attempts to board the subway, blockades, and lawsuits for damages are expected to continue.

Meanwhile, regarding the failure of the meeting between Jeonjangyeon and Mayor Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul Metropolitan Government stated, "We will protect the normal operation of the subway and citizens' right to commute under any circumstances."

In a statement issued under the name of spokesperson Lee Dong-ryul on the same day, the Seoul Metropolitan Government strongly criticized, "What exactly does Jeonjangyeon's protest causing inconvenience to citizens want? Jeonjangyeon claims that the budget allocation for disability rights such as deinstitutionalization is not a matter for the Seoul Metropolitan Government to decide, yet they have taken the Seoul subway, the citizens' means of transportation, hostage to enforce their demands through violent and disruptive protests and intend to continue doing so."

They added, "We clearly state once again that if the disruptive protests causing inconvenience and anxiety to citizens continue, there will be no more tolerance. The Seoul Metropolitan Government will never allow the subway to be used as a tool for protests to enforce the demands of a specific group in the future."

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