A disability advocacy group has resumed its subway protest in Seoul, calling for an increase in the government budget to protect the rights of people with disabilities.

The Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination(SADD) began the protest at 8 a.m. Monday at Samgakji Station in Yongsan District, the closest station to the presidential office, saying that the increase in funding for the disabled in the 2023 budget is absurdly small.

The group has staged subway protests since late last year, with wheelchair-bound activists repeatedly boarding and disembarking trains to cause delays in subway services. The group said, however, that from Monday’s protests, it will ensure that boarding time does not exceed five minutes.

Seoul Metro, the operator of subway services in the capital region, broadcast a warning when the group held a press conference at the station, but did not have trains pass through without stopping.

The group plans to continue the protests until Tuesday.

The group had demanded that the government increase the 2023 budget for disability rights to one-point-three trillion won, but only ten-point-six billion won, or zero-point-eight percent of the amount, was included in the budget approved by parliament.

Source: KBS World Radio