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| Jang Hye-yeong from the Justice Party, right, wearing a yellow mask, condemns main opposition People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok's criticism of disability advocates, along with members of the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, and ruling Democratic Party of Korea's Choi Hye-young, left, in a wheelchair, during a press conference at the National Assembly, Seoul, March 25. Screenshot from Jang Hye-yeong's Twitter |
By Lee Hae-rin
Main opposition People Power Party (PPP) leader Lee Jun-seok's comments concerning a disability advocacy group that has been holding daily protests on subway lines every morning to raise awareness of their mobility rights since last year is receiving criticism for being hate speech against a minority group. "Blocking train operation by intentionally stopping at the doors, and telling someone who needs to be at grandmother's deathbed to take a bus. This should no longer be justified as a legitimate fight," Lee wrote on Facebook, Friday.
Along with Lee's post was a YouTube video link, which showed an activist with a disability telling a bystander to "take a bus," as she asked the protesters to stop the demonstration, because she needed to board the subway to go to see her grandmother who was in a near-death condition.
On the spot, the protester apologized to the person in tears and explained that she also missed her mother's final moments last July, due to the activist's inability to move via public transport and the lack of taxis designated for people with disability, which was edited out in the video posted by Lee.
On the same day, Lee posted three additional Facebook posts, which denounced the activist group's protests as a "social irregularity that takes hostage millions of innocent Seoul citizens," and called for the use of public force by the police and Seoul Metro to suppress them.
In response, a group of lawmakers and activists held a press conference at the National Assembly to condemn Lee's words, Friday.
"As a party leader, Lee chose to speak in favor of cracking down on the demonstrations of a socially vulnerable group with the use of force, rather than listening to their calls to have their fundamental rights granted. His self-righteousness with no sense of empathy deeply worries me," Rep. Jang Hye-yeong of the minor opposition Justice Party said.
Rep. Choi Hye-young of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, who became disabled due to a spinal cord injury, and members of the local civic group that has been leading the metro protest, Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD), also condemned Lee's words and expressed concerns about the new administration's stance towards a socially vulnerable group.
Many people stand in united criticism of the PPP chairman's comments.
"Lee always incites hatred against socially vulnerable groups and takes advantage of it for his political ends," one internet user wrote, Saturday, while another wrote, "Those of you who are annoyed by the morning metro protest, please call Seoul Metro and file a complaint, rather than channeling your anger towards the disabled people."
"Lee's comments are clearly hate speech and it is extremely inappropriate for a politician and party leader to make such remarks," Kim Ye-won, an attorney at the Disability Rights Advocate Center, told The Korea Times, Sunday.
"He is intentionally attempting to make the group's arguments lose ground and hindering solidarity between the protesters and society. It is a great concern that he will be running state affairs with such a spirit."
As of Dec. 2021, 261 out of 283 metro stations in Seoul have elevators installed for the disabled and elderly.
The installation of these elevators is the result of a 39-day hunger strike by the disability advocacy group in 2002, who demanded that the city government and Seoul Metro apologize for the deaths of wheelchair users with disabilities in metro station elevator accidents and a guarantee of their right to mobility.
Former President Lee Myung-bak, who was the Seoul city mayor at the time, had promised to achieve a 100-percent installation rate. However, no city government has achieved full installation of elevators or apologized for the elevator-related deaths.
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