Disabled Groups Lie Down at Subway Station in Protest... "We Want to Live as Citizens"

Joint Struggle Group Holds Rally at Marronnier Park
Calls for Prompt Passage of Disability-Related Legislation

On the 20th, the 44th Disabled Persons' Day, disability organizations held a "die-in" protest at Hansung University Station on Seoul Subway Line 4, lying down as if dead to express their opposition to discrimination.

On the morning of the 20th, Disability Day, participants including the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities held a die-in protest at Hansung University Entrance Station in the Seoul subway, appealing for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

About 100 members of the 4·20 Joint Struggle Group for the Elimination of Disability Discrimination, composed of disability organizations including the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Disability Discrimination, lay down on the platform of Hansung University Station from around 8 a.m., demanding legislation to guarantee the rights of persons with disabilities.

They displayed banners reading "Persons with disabilities want to live as citizens" on their bodies or held placards while sitting and singing, protesting for about an hour.

Seoul Metro prevented some activists from entering the station and forcibly removed those protesting. Two disability activists were arrested by the police on charges including obstruction of official duties as they tried to enter the station.

At around 10 a.m., the Joint Struggle Group held a rally at Marronnier Park in front of Hyehwa Station on Subway Line 4. They called for the prompt passage of the Disability Rights Guarantee Act, the Disability Deinstitutionalization Support Act, the Lifelong Education Act for Persons with Disabilities, and the Special Act on Guaranteeing Labor Rights for Persons with Severe Disabilities. They also proposed restoring the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s budget for customized public jobs for persons with severe disabilities.

They requested meetings with party leaders such as Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Cho Guk, leader of the Innovation Party, urging them to enact the laws within the first year of the 22nd National Assembly.

The Joint Struggle Group was formed to change "Disabled Persons' Day," which they say conceals discrimination and oppression against persons with disabilities, into the "Day for the Elimination of Disability Discrimination."