Jeonjangyeon Forcibly Removed from Hyehwa Station Protest for Third Consecutive Day

Since April 21, the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Jeonjangyeon) has resumed its morning rush hour protests at Hyehwa Station on Seoul Subway Line 4. On the morning of April 24, Jeonjangyeon was forcibly removed from the station by subway authorities. This marked the third consecutive day that Jeonjangyeon activists were forcibly removed from the Hyehwa Station platform while attempting to stage a protest.

Members of the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Jeonjangyeon) clashed with Seoul Metro employees while attempting to board the subway during the 62nd "Commuting Subway Ride" protest at Hyehwa Station on Seoul Subway Line 4 on the 21st. Photo by Yonhap News

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On this day, about ten Jeonjangyeon activists began a "silent protest" on the Hyehwa Station platform at 8:00 a.m. However, Seoul Metro requested that they leave, citing the protest as illegal.

When Jeonjangyeon refused, demanding "guarantees for a safe publicity campaign," Seoul Metro mobilized subway security officers and forcibly removed Lee Hyungsook, Jeonjangyeon's co-chairperson, from the station at around 8:17 a.m. The remaining protesters resisted by sitting down on the platform, but voluntarily left the area at around 8:30 a.m. Jeonjangyeon had also been forcibly removed after staging similar protests at the same location on April 22 and 23.

Jeonjangyeon resumed its morning rush hour subway boarding protests on April 21, after a hiatus of over a year. The group stated, "For the past year, we halted our morning subway boarding protests and instead staged die-in protests?lying down on the platform to urge the National Assembly to pass disability rights legislation?but our demands have not been met," explaining the reason for resuming the boarding protests.

Meanwhile, Jeonjangyeon has announced plans to hold another morning rush hour protest on May 2 at the Hyehwa Station platform (toward Dongdaemun). The group is demanding that Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon withdraw the dismissal of 400 severely disabled workers focused on rights advocacy, and that presidential candidates commit to seven key legislative pledges on disability rights, including the enactment of a law supporting deinstitutionalization.

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