Disability Groups Urge Kumho Express to Install Wheelchair Lifts

About 200 Members of the Gwangju 420 Joint Struggle Group March 3 km
"Gwangju City Must Conduct a Comprehensive Survey on Mobility Rights"

Two days before the Day for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, local disability activists held a press conference urging the guarantee of mobility rights for persons with disabilities at the Youth Square plaza in Gwangcheon-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju on the 18th. Photo by Min Chanki

Two days before the Day for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, disability organizations in Gwangju called on the Gwangju city government and Kumho Express to guarantee mobility rights, including the introduction of express buses equipped with lifts for persons with disabilities.

The Gwangju Disability Discrimination Elimination Solidarity and the Gwangju 420 Joint Struggle Group held a press conference at the plaza in front of the Gwangju General Bus Terminal in Gwangcheon-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju on the morning of the 18th.

About 200 participants attended the press conference, including representatives from the Gwangju Disability Discrimination Elimination Solidarity, the Korea Center for Independent Living of Persons with Disabilities, the Gwangju branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Siloam People, and the Gwangju Women with Disabilities Solidarity.

The press conference included speeches of struggle and solidarity by local disability activists, the reading of a press statement, a 3-kilometer march from the General Bus Terminal to Kia Motors and Gwangju City Hall, and the delivery of their demands.

The organizations stated, "After a legal battle lasting 7 years and 2 months, we won a partial victory in the courts for the introduction of express buses equipped with lifts for persons with disabilities. However, Kumho Express continues to ignore this, citing 'financial burden' and 'safety' as reasons."

They argued, "Special school buses and vehicles for comprehensive welfare centers for persons with disabilities, which are equipped with lifts, have been operating safely for years. Therefore, Kumho Express's claims are unfounded. Allowing persons who use wheelchairs to use express buses would bring Kumho Express closer to its corporate vision of 'customer happiness as the final destination.'"

They also emphasized, "We have been demanding universal mobility and access rights for persons with disabilities from the Gwangju city government for over 20 years, but due to lukewarm administrative responses, persons with disabilities still cannot fully enjoy these rights. Gwangju City must conduct a comprehensive survey of mobility rights for persons with disabilities and establish an integrated plan."

After the press conference, the protest group marched 3 kilometers from the General Bus Terminal to Kia Motors and Gwangju City Hall.

After the march, they submitted eight key demands to the Gwangju city government, including: ▲guaranteeing mobility and labor rights ▲support for independent living ▲guaranteeing health and education rights ▲protection of the rights of women with disabilities, persons with developmental disabilities, and persons with brain lesions, among others.