[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Jeonjangyeon) has decided not to accept the court's second mediation proposal regarding the subway delay protests. It is expected that future negotiations with Seoul Metro (Seogyo-gong) will stall.
On the 25th, Jeonjangyeon held its 268th publicity campaign at Hyehwa Station on the Seoul subway in the morning. Park Kyung-seok, co-executive director of Jeonjangyeon, said, "We conveyed our refusal to accept the court's second mediation proposal yesterday," adding, "The trial will begin soon."
Seogyo-gong filed a lawsuit against Jeonjangyeon at the end of 2021, claiming 30 million won in damages. The reason for the lawsuit was the decrease in fare revenue caused by seven subway delay protests conducted by Jeonjangyeon between January 22 and November 12, 2021.
During the lawsuit process, on December 19 last year, the Seoul Central District Court issued a first compulsory mediation proposal ordering Jeonjangyeon to compensate Seogyo-gong 5 million won if the subway operation was delayed by more than five minutes due to Jeonjangyeon's protests. Jeonjangyeon accepted this, but the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seogyo-gong rejected it, stating they could not accept any subway delays.
Accordingly, on the 10th of this month, the court presented a second compulsory mediation proposal excluding the delay time condition. However, Seogyo-gong submitted a 'Request for Change of Claim and Cause of Claim' to increase the damage claim amount to 51.45 million won just one day after the second mediation proposal was issued.
Director Park said, "I once again urge Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to engage in social dialogue," adding, "Even if everyone's opinions differ, I want to participate together and openly resolve the issues."
Meanwhile, separate from this lawsuit, Seogyo-gong filed a damage compensation lawsuit for 601.45 million won on the 6th, claiming damages caused by 75 delay protests conducted by Jeonjangyeon from December 3, 2021, to December 15 last year. Jeonjangyeon and Mayor Oh attempted to arrange a meeting to discuss subway protests and other issues, but failed to coordinate the disclosure of the meeting and other details, resulting in a breakdown on the 19th.
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