Park Gyeong-seok, center, a representative of Solidarity against Disability Discrimination (SADD), remains on the platform inside Hyewha Station on Seoul Metro Line 4, Wednesday, as commuters pass by. Police officers stay close to Park watching out for any movements by his group. Yonhap

Protesters clash with police, subway officials at station for hours earlier this week

By Ko Dong-hwan

Subway protests by disability rights activists who are demanding an increased government budget to protect the rights of people with disabilities are becoming increasingly tense. Since last year, the activists have been disrupting subway operations throughout Seoul's subway system for long periods of time. They announced on Tuesday that they will continue with their protests "every day except on weekends and holidays," until their demands are met.

On Wednesday morning, the disability rights activists of Solidarity against Disability Discrimination (SADD), whose members consist of people with disabilities and their supporters, posted on Facebook that Seoul Metro, the city-run subway operator, agreed to meet representatives of the group later that day. The meeting is to negotiate whether the city-run company will introduce additional elevators inside more subway stations around the city so as to improve accessibility and whether the protesters will halt their ongoing demonstrations, which have been ongoing for months causing serious frustrations to both the subway passengers and the protesters also.

Earlier on Wednesday, members of the group resumed their daily protests as members, including some 20 people in wheelchairs, gathered at the southbound platform of Hyehwa Station on Seoul Metro Line 4. In a public statement, they said it was the 255th day of their protest. A station official reportedly said the protesters blocked several doors on the platform making it impossible for passengers to board or exit the train.

The protesters then went inside a subway car and got off at Samgakji Station, the nearest station to the presidential office in Yongsan District, where the protesters have been assembling frequently.

On Wednesday, the group also said via their official Facebook page that they will protest only at stations on Line 4 in the future and will notify the public in advance as to which stations they will protest at every morning at 8 a.m. in order to minimize clashes with commuters.

A member of Solidarity against Disability Discrimination is blocked by Seoul Metro officials from entering a train car at Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station, Tuesday. Yonhap

Previously on Tuesday, a heated clash between protesters and police officers as well as Seoul Metro officials lasted for nearly six hours after starting during the morning rush hour. Initially, 20 protesters boarded a train at Sungshin Women's University Station traveled southbound. Some of the protesters got off at Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station while the rest of them stayed aboard, heading for Samgakji Station. The group who had left the train attempted to get into another train, but were blocked by 100 police officers and station officials, who had been on the lookout for the protesters at the platform. The police had anticipated that the protesters would try to occupy a train and delay it from leaving the station.

"Let us use the subway, we are citizens too!" said Lee Hyeong-sook and Park Keong-seok, both wheelchair users who represent the group, along with other protesters as they were surrounded by the authorities on the platform. During the clash, the station's head operator sustained an injury and was taken to a hospital after a protester rammed his legs with a wheelchair. The station chief warned the protesters at the scene that they were violating the country's Railway Safety Act by causing a commotion inside the station.

As the clash went on, subway trains had to bypass the station, frustrating commuters hoping to get on or off there. The clash ended after the protest stopped just after 2 p.m.

A similar situation erupted at Samgakji Station on Monday. It went on for over 13 hours, virtually cutting the station off from the metro system during that period.

Last year, Seoul Metro sued SADD for disrupting the subway company's operations and demanded restitution for its losses. The Seoul Central District Court on Dec. 21 enforced a compulsory mediation, mandating the company to construct new elevators at 19 subway stations under its control by 2024. The court also banned the protesters from rallying inside subway trains for more than five minutes. They will be fined 5 million won ($3,900) for violations, the mediation stated.

Police officers block the subway safety doors at Samgakji Station to prevent members of Solidary against Disability Discrimination from boarding, Monday. Yonhap

The mediation was to go into effect unless both parties object within two weeks. The protesters accepted the mediation but Seoul Metro objected on Tuesday. They argued that five minutes is long enough to cause passengers a major grievance, especially in the busy morning rush hour and they cannot let that happen.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon had previously said the same thing. He had publicly condemned the protesters, saying the protests throughout last year had caused the city financial losses worth almost 600 million won. "I won't allow one minute under the protesters' control," Oh said. "There will be zero tolerance against the subway protesters. We will seek every charge against them in both civil and criminal laws."

Last December, the National Assembly passed the national budget plan for 2023, in which the Ministry of Economy and Finance earmarked an additional 10.6 billion won to last year's budget specifically to serve the country's disability groups and cater to their rights. The figure, however, was less than 1 percent of the over 1.3 trillion won the group has been demanding from the central government in order to expand the budget further.

The group has been rallying inside subway stations in an effort to push the central government to increase the budget. Last month, Mayor Oh called for a "truce" to stop the protests, which the activists accepted. But after the 2023 budget plan was made public, the protesters ended the truce and resumed their activities this year.

"Ever since an elderly couple with disabilities had fallen to their deaths from a lift at Oido Station (in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province) in 2001, we've been raising our voices for 21 years, and now it's turning into the 22nd year," the protesters said in a statement released last month. "We apologize to patrons of Seoul Metro Line 4. Please bear with us."