Disability rights activists resume subway protest in Seoul

A disability rights advocacy group resumed its subway boarding protest in Seoul on Thursday, following a six-month hiatus.

Sixty activists from the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD), many of them in wheelchairs, boarded a subway at City Hall Station and occupied six train cars, with 10 activists in each car.

The protest took place after the morning rush hour, causing less disruption than expected as there was enough room on board for both the activists and commuters.

"We are here to talk about the overall mobility rights of disabled people," SADD chief Park Kyoung-seok said, calling on the government to set aside a budget to guarantee the rights of people with disabilities next year.

While the activists staged a protest on the City Hall Station platform, Seoul Metro, the subway operator, restricted access to parts of the platform and made broadcasts demanding the activists stop the demonstration and leave the station.

On Wednesday, the group staged a bus-boarding protest during the morning rush hour in Jongno District, central Seoul.

Among other things, the SADD has demanded the Seoul Metropolitan Government reinstate 400 laid-off workers hired under its rights-centered public jobs program, which was launched in 2020 to employ people with severe disabilities but abolished in 2024.

Yonhap