Jeon Jang-yeon “will file a complaint”… Seoul City and Seoul Metro to take strong legal action
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Hyun-su: For the second day at Hyehwa Station on Seoul Subway Line 4, a “commute propaganda campaign” took place. A clash occurred between the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (NSEDPD), who were holding a collective action during the morning commute, and the subway authorities who were trying to stop them. The NSEDPD was forcibly removed by the authorities.
On the morning of the 22nd, the NSEDPD planned to carry out a propaganda campaign on the platform of Hyehwa Station starting at 8 a.m. However, Seoul Metro blocked them citing a “violation of the Railway Safety Act” and requested them to leave.
When the NSEDPD did not comply, the subway corporation, at around 8:16 a.m., mobilized subway security personnel to escort them out of the station. During this process, there were raised voices and physical confrontations.
By 8:28 a.m., the six activists from the NSEDPD and seven citizens who were removed from Hyehwa Station relocated to the entrance of Seoul National University Hospital nearby to continue their campaign.
Lee Hyeong-sook, the standing co-representative of the NSEDPD, claimed to have injured her shoulder and stated her wheelchair was damaged during the forced eviction, and announced plans to file a complaint against the corporation.
In response to the NSEDPD’s resumption of the subway protest during the commute the previous day, the City of Seoul declared this propaganda campaign as an illegal protest and stated that they would “respond strongly with legal actions against illegal activities.” Accordingly, they plan to file a criminal complaint with the local police station and proceed with civil lawsuits for damages and obstruction of business.
[Contact: hyunsu@yna.co.kr]