[INTERVIEW] Lawmaker contemplates her role as voice for the voiceless

Rep. Kim Yea-ji of main opposition People Power Party and her guide dog Joy pose during an interview with The Korea Times at her office in Seoul, April 1. Joy is the first animal to enter the National Assembly building in Yeouido since its completion in 1975. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Rep. Kim Yea-ji feels pity and frustration as other disabled people try to make their voices heard

By Lee Hae-rin

Rep. Kim Yea-ji knelt on the ground near the platform of Gyeongbokgung Subway Station in central Seoul on March 28. Her guide dog, Joy, was sitting next to her that morning.

The area was more crowded than usual as her visit there coincided with rush hour and a sit-in protest by activists with disabilities urging the presidential transition team to set aside a budget to improve their access to public transportation and guarantee their rights.

Six activists from the local disability advocacy group, Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD), joined the rally holding banners urging President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol to listen to their voices.

"I am here today on behalf of politicians. I am very sorry (that you have to experience inconveniences)," she told the protesters.

Kim is the first female lawmaker with a visual impairment.

Her visit to the protest scene came a week after a social media post by PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok angered people with disabilities. Lee criticized SADD for "holding millions of innocent Seoul citizens hostage" with their "unlawful protests" during the morning commuting hours. The group has been holding daily protests on subway lines every morning since last December to raise awareness of the mobility rights of people with disabilities.

Rep. Kim Yea-ji kneels on the ground and apologizes to protestors and Seoul citizens during a morning protest by a disability advocacy group at Gyeongbokgung subway station, March 28. Korea Times photo by Kim Ga-yoon

Kim said she had to muster all of her courage in order to visit the rally.

Although it was her first time attending a protest by SADD, Kim said her heart had always been with the group as a person with a disability herself.

Her public apology, which made local headlines, came at a price.

She and her staff at the National Assembly have since received tons of protest calls and text messages from disgruntled citizens who were against the activists for holding back commuters.

They criticized her for joining the activists who tried to make their voices heard at the expense of other people's rights.

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Their complaints prompted her to contemplate her role as a voice for the voiceless at the National Assembly.

Despite the inconveniences, she said she chose to apologize to the country's 2.36 million people with disabilities and others who experience inconveniences by the group's protests on subways.

"I thought it was the right time (for an apology) and some politician had to do it. Even if that somebody had to be me," Kim said.

A former pianist, educator and disability rights activist, Kim joined the National Assembly in 2020 after she was elected on the party's proportional representation ticket seeking to achieve changes.

"As a politician, I was first and foremost sorry for being there just to apologize without any practical solution to the problem," Kim said. "So I apologized and promised to resolve differences among the protesters and others," Kim said.

However, what disheartened her the most was the disparity between the media's portrayal of the disability group's protest and the reality.

According to Kim, the media created a negative image of the protests by highlighting the delay and inconvenience caused by the advocacy group's continued protests during the morning rush hour. From reading the domestic coverage, Kim had imagined the protest site to be more crowded with activists on wheel chairs, whereas in reality, the site was filled with journalists.

Rep. Kim's assistive technology products to read and write are seen on her desk. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

After the apology, she witnessed that only six to seven activists on wheelchairs boarded the train without any intention of blocking commuters and caused no more than five minutes of delay. What shocked her even more was an apology to passengers made by a Seoul Metro official for the "inconvenience caused by people on wheelchairs."

"Imagine a situation where dozens of people on wheelchairs need to use the subway for their personal needs, which is their legal right. In that scenario, a much longer delay would be caused, which makes no sense," Kim said, pointing out a fundamental problem in the country's public transportation system in failing to include people with disabilities.

"I believe our society still has a long way to in terms of disability inclusivity. It is not only about the infrastructure and the number of elevators installed in subway stations. It's more about our perception of people with disabilities and awareness of human rights," Kim said.

Kim became a well-known public figure through her apology and created momentum in the disability rights movement. But many criticized her for going against the party leader's action and questioned whether a National Assembly member should support such an "illegal protest."

"Since visiting the protest site, I've been receiving a lot of criticism. I received so many text messages and phone calls that I could barely use my cell phone, while my office has been bombarded with calls criticizing what I've done. Somebody even posed as a journalist to get into my office," Kim said.

Despite the frustration, she still believes Lee's comments about SADD, which were criticized by human rights activists for being hateful, ended up playing a role in bringing the media's attention to the issue.

"Most political issues on social minorities, including this one (on mobility rights of people with disabilities), rarely get lawmakers and people's attention without a sensational event or celebrity being involved. This is a clear pattern," Kim said. "I am grateful that such an influential voice has created a room for debate on the disability issue," she added.

Kim agrees with the illegitimacy of the group's protest. However, she believes it is a politician's role to wonder why such protests happened in the first place and to listen attentively to people's problems. Most importantly, Kim believes in solutions not only for the greatest good for the greatest number, but for social minorities and the most vulnerable segments of society.

"It could be human nature to feel uncomfortable in sharing society's limited resources with the weak, like the law of the jungle," Kim said. "Nevertheless, I believe we must go on with education, self-examination, and finding solutions. Isn't that what makes us humans?"

Rep. Kim Yea-ji's guide dog Joy rests at Kim's office during her interview. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Korea Times reporter Lee Yeon-woo contributed to this article.