Subway service briefly disrupted amid disability rights protest

Activists from the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination stage a protest to demand the government allocate a sufficient budget for the rights of disabled people at Hyehwa Station in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

A disability rights activist group staged a subway boarding protest in Seoul on Monday, briefly suspending trains on Lines 1 and 4, the operators said.

Activists from the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, many using wheelchairs, occupied the platforms of Noryangjin Station on Line 1 and Hyehwa Station on Line 4, demanding the government allocate a sufficient budget for disabled people next year.

To ensure passengers' safety, northbound trains were made to pass through Noryangjin without stopping from 8:30 a.m. to 9:50 a.m., while southbound trains were made to pass through Hyehwa without stopping from 8:42 a.m. to 9:28 a.m., their respective operators said.

The activists planned to hold a rally in front of the Korea Institute for Financial Information in central Seoul later in the day.

The subway protests will be held every Monday at 8 a.m. at Hyehwa Station until Aug. 24, the group said.