Lee Jun-seok, chairman of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), has triggered controversy by repeatedly attacking a disability advocacy group whose members have been organizing rush-hour subway protests. In his Facebook posts, Lee urged the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD) to stop the protests he said are holding millions of Seoul citizens hostage.
SADD has been holding the protests since late last year, demanding measures to improve the mobility rights of the disabled and a separate budget for a disability rights initiative. The protests often caused delays in subway services during rush hours as some of its members used their wheelchairs to prevent trains from departing.
Lee's attacks have sparked widespread accusations. “We have waited 21 years on the issue of accessibility rights,” said Park Kyoung-seok, co-head of SADD, during a meeting with members of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition team Tuesday. Kim Ye-ji, the nation's first visually impaired PPP lawmaker, even joined the protest at Gyeongbokgung Station Monday morning and knelt down before the disabled to apologize on Lee's behalf.
While it's possible to denounce the disabled protesters on the basis that their methods cause inconvenience to the public, it's doubtful whether it's right for Lee, who will begin leading the next ruling party with the inauguration of Yoon on May 10, to confront an organization of disabled people ― one of the marginalized groups in our society ― at a time when he should be embracing them in order to address honoring their rights. He should have tried his best to understand what motivated the disabled to hamper subway operations at the risk of causing inconvenience to other passengers instead of criticizing them unilaterally.
Certainly, Lee's stubbornness will frame the PPP as a party turning a blind eye to the plight of the underprivileged. The undeniable fact is that Korea still has a long way to go when it comes to the welfare of the disabled. Lee should be more forthcoming about national integration and put more effort into protecting the rights of the disabled.