Police officers block the entry of activists from Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD) to a subway train at a station in Seoul, in this file photo taken Sept. 5, 2023. The disability advocacy group staged a protest to call for the protection of mobility rights and increased government funding for the disabled. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul Metro, the operator of Seoul subway lines No. 1-8, announced measures Thursday to ban all subway protests by a disabled advocacy group after they resumed their morning rush-hour protest this week.
Seoul Metro said it came up with the three-step countermeasures against Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD) on Tuesday, following the resumption of protests after a two-month halt since the last collective action on Sept. 25.
The measures include blocking the group’s entry into subway stations, preventing them from boarding subway trains by not opening or shutting the platform doors and taking legal action against all illegal acts.
The subway operator said it has requested the police’s cooperation in blocking off the group’s protests within all subway stations and trains, citing the Assembly and Demonstrations Act.
It also plans to have trains pass through stations without stopping in case of continued protests and record the entire demonstration process in order to gather evidence of illegal actions.
The disability advocacy group has been staging subway protests since 2021, demanding increased government funding to protect the rights of people with disabilities, including mobility rights. The wheelchair-bound activists have repeatedly boarded and disembarked trains to cause delays in metro services during the morning rush hour.
Seoul Metro claimed that delays totaling over 86 hours have been caused by the subway protests on 471 occasions since 2021, resulting in some 780 million won (US $600,936) in losses.
(Yonhap)
