Disabled activists' protest temporarily disrupts Yongsan Station

On Monday, a disability rights advocacy group disrupted subway operations at two stations in Seoul to raise awareness about increased government spending for people with disabilities. Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination staged the protest at Yongsan Station on Subway Line 1 and Hyehwa Station on Subway Line 4. Activists, many of whom were wheelchair-bound, intentionally boarded and disembarked trains or deliberately took longer to board, demanding more government funding and better mobility rights for the disabled in the upcoming budget.

KORAIL, the train operator, responded to the protest by having northbound trains pass through Yongsan Station without stopping from 8:10 a.m. to 10:06 a.m., causing inconvenience to commuters. Hyehwa Station's operations returned to normal around 9 a.m. after all activists left the station. The group threatened to repeat the protest at Hyehwa Station every Monday until August 24. A similar protest occurred at Noryangjin Station on Subway Line 1 in southern Seoul on August 3.