Members of the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities protest in front of a crosswalk. / Photo = News 1
Park Kyung-seok, president of the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Jeon Jang-yeon), explained the reason for the subway protest on the way to work.
On the afternoon of the 18th, CEO Park gave a lecture at the Seoul National University Public Interest Law Center on the subject of ‘disability rights, from charity to rights’ and explained the background for their participation in the subway protests on their way to work.
CEO Park said, “The first time they protested on their way to work was on December 3, last year, on World Disabled Persons Day. “The train was delayed by 30-40 minutes due to construction blockade,” he explained.
CEO Park said, “After that, I waited for a meeting with the Ministry of Finance, but they ignored us until the Lunar New Year passed and started a protest under the name of ‘I take the subway to work’.”
photo = Yonhap News
CEO Park actively countered the criticism from some that he was asking the government for education and labor budgets in addition to the ‘mobility budget’ by taking citizens’ inconvenience as a hostage.
He emphasized, “The disabled people are unable to move, so they cannot receive education, and therefore cannot work.”
CEO Park also emphasized, “The mobility issue is not only a problem for the disabled, but a problem for the transportation-disabled people who make up 30% of Korea.
Park continued, “Jeon Jang-yeon has been fighting for the rights of the disabled since the Moon Jae-in administration and others, but he talks as if he is rioting when the Yoon Seok-yeol government comes in.” He said, “It’s really unfair.”
Earlier, some members of the university, such as the Seoul National University alumni community ‘Snoo Life’, objected to Park’s lecture, but there was no disturbance at the site.
Choi Soo-jin, reporter at Hankyung.com naive@hankyung.com
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