"Protesting by Taking Citizens Hostage" Criticized
"I Am the Only Politician to Publicly Address the Jeonjangyeon Protest"
Lee Junseok, the Reform New Party presidential candidate, strongly criticized the National Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (Jeonjangyeon)'s subway protest during the morning commute, stating, "A struggle that takes the public hostage is not solidarity, but a hostage situation."
Lee Junseok, Reform New Party presidential candidate. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group
On the 21st, through his Facebook account, Lee said, "Seoul Subway Line 4 is the lifeline for 800,000 citizens every day," and added, "Jeonjangyeon is once again bringing this line to a halt in an attempt to push through their demands."
He continued, "What they are calling for is not 'mobility rights,' but rather 'budget for deinstitutionalization policies.' While they have the freedom to make policy demands, they do not have the right to hold the daily lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands hostage," and added, "Citizens in Namyangju, Nowon, Dobong, and Seongbuk... people in the northeastern part of Seoul are suffering every day in stalled subway trains. Why must they always be the ones to pay the price?"
Members of the National Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (Jeonjangyeon) are confronting Seoul Metro officials during the 62nd "Taking the Subway on the Way to Work" protest held on the 21st at Hyehwa Station on Seoul Subway Line 4. Photo by Yonhap News
Lee stated, "For the past three years, I have been the only politician to speak publicly about this issue," and argued, "Most others remained silent because they feared certain media outlets and groups that label anyone who criticizes as a 'hater of people with disabilities.'"
He went on to say, "But politics is about making decisions between popularity and principle," and added, "The politicians who remain silent now may not be afraid of the 'inconvenient truth,' but rather of 'losing their votes.'" He also quoted former U.S. President John F. Kennedy: "A man does what he must?in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures?and that is the basis of all human morality."
Furthermore, he said, "A method that brings the subway to a halt and takes citizens hostage only undermines any cause," and questioned, "If those who remain silent in the face of this absurdity become president, can they truly lead the Republic of Korea properly?"
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