An activist of National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Disabled Persons (Jeon Jang-yeon) is stopped by Seoul Transportation Corporation while trying to get off at Dongdaemun History and Culture Park on Seoul Line 4, where they are protesting for taking the subway that will be held. Journalist Kwon Do-hyun
On the 3rd, the National Coalition for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Jeon Jang-yeon) held a protest on the second day of the new year, demanding to guarantee a budget for the rights of the disabled. The Seoul Transportation Corporation, which had blocked activists from boarding the subway for about 13 hours the previous day, confronted the activists by blocking them from boarding wheelchairs for more than six hours on the same day. On this day, Jeon Yeon-yeon disbanded “1 Night 2 Days Subway Action” and announced that she would engage in subway propaganda on her way to work for 260 days, excluding weekends and holidays this year .
Eight female activists of Jeon Yeon-yeon started the “254th Day Propaganda War for Disability Rights Legislation” at Sungshin Women’s University Station on Seoul Subway Line 4 at around 8:10 a.m. that day. After announcing that the propaganda war would be canceled at 8:00 am, protesters staged a surprise rally. The activists boarded the subway without being stopped by the police and got off at the Dongdaemun History and Culture Park station. Later, they tried to board the train again to the Samgak area at around 8:30 am but were stopped by construction workers and police.
Activist Jeon Yun-sil Yeon said, “Yesterday, for about 13 hours, I didn’t ride the subway once, but this morning, while riding the subway, I was able to meet citizens in person and let them know what the situation is. where we were”.
At 10:30 on the same day, activists who were trying to participate in the “2 Days 1 Night First Subway Action Canceling Ceremony” scheduled in the Samgak area tried to board the train, but the riot police and construction workers directly blocked the door or a shield was placed around the wheelchair to prevent boarding. About 20 activists who were unable to move around the triangular area remained at the Dongdaemun Cultural and Historical Park Station and continued their protest. Activists shouted slogans such as “let me take the subway” and “disabled people are also citizens”.
National Coalition for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Jeon Jang-yeon) representative Park Gyeong-seok speaks at the first unwinding ceremony of Metro Action for the budget and legislation for the rights of persons with disabilities held in the Samgak area of Seoul Metro Line 4 on the 3rd.
In the Samgak area, the disbanding ceremony was held around 10:50 am. About 50 Jeon Jeon activists gathered. Around the time of the disbanding ceremony, Samgak district head Koo Ki-jeong complained of leg pain and was taken to hospital. The former station manager claimed he “collided with an electric wheelchair” and activists refuted that “the station manager fell by himself”. Clashes ensued, such as when a physically disabled activist drove his wheelchair through the subway door, riot police officers rushed to stop him.
Jeon Jeon’s side said the court’s mediation plan, which suggested boarding the subway within “5 minutes” in case of propaganda campaign on the way to work, was “a deal with the company’s lawyer ” and said: “Please don’t reject the mediation project as well.” Choi Yong-ki, representative of the Korea Center for Independent Living for the Disabled, said: “I don’t want anything fancy. Disabled people want to move, they want to study at school and they just want to live a human life without being excluded”.
However, on the same day, Seoul Transportation Corporation filed an objection to the mandatory adjustment with the court. Despite Jeon Jeon’s appeal, the company refused to mediate, and the lawsuit between the two sides has come full circle.
He predicted a legal action against the construction of the battlefield year. Park Gyeong-seok, CEO of Jeon Jeon-yeon, said, “When the company protests on grounds such as ‘high-pitched singing’, it calls for eviction, but Jeon Jeon-yeon’s activists have never chanted loudly. They have also apologized to the company and the city of Seoul for blocking boarding for no reason.
The disbandment ceremony ended around 11:44 am After announcing the “disbandment”, CEO Park asked, “We will move to Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station one by one as the company wants, so please cooperate” . However, riot police and construction workers denied the request and prevented her from boarding the train. A construction official said: “I don’t think moving to the station is an official disbandment” and “I decided it wasn’t a pure move.”
The resolution rally held at Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station officially ended at 2:30 pm. The company did not prevent Jeon Jeon-yeon activists from boarding the subway after the resolution meeting.
Jeon Ji-yeon said he would continue the subway propaganda campaign as he went to work every weekday except weekends and holidays. They called the triangular area on Line 4 near the Yongsan Presidential Office the “President’s Office Station” and said that from now on, they would only hold propaganda campaigns and rallies on Line 4.
Park Gyeong-seok, Jeon Jeon-yeon permanent co-CEO, said, “I have requested a meeting with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, so if we set a date quickly, we will postpone the propaganda campaign.”
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