[Chorus] What do you think of the surprise demonstration for the disabled on the way to work?

Did any of you ever get on the subway line 5 during rush hour this Monday?

Unlike other times, the train didn't come and the interval between the trains was getting too long.

The subway announcement that I heard at the same time contained the contents that dispatches were not being carried out smoothly due to protests by groups of people with disabilities.

Looking at the comments on the article, complaints from people who didn't come to work on time were popping up all over the place.

In the comments, I could feel the anger of those who were 30 minutes late and those who were late for more than an hour.

In fact, this Monday is not the first time that people with disabilities have protested on their way to work.

I've already been protesting at the subway station eight times this year alone.

Last time, Seoul Transportation Corporation closed the elevator in front of Exit 2 of Hyehwa Station to prevent protests.

So today, Mabu News prepared a story related to the mobility rights of the disabled.

Why did the handicapped perform a surprise demonstration?

First of all, was it a demonstration of the disabled or a surprise demonstration?

If you look at the meaning of surprise in the dictionary, it means 'to do something suddenly before others notice it'.

Suddenly, without announcing the demonstration in advance!

If you did, you could say it was a surprise demonstration, but if you look at the Twitter of the Seoul Transportation Corporation, it was announced the day before the demonstration.

From 08:00 on Monday, December 20th, there will be a propaganda exhibition for groups of people with disabilities to ride the subway in the section between Gwanghwamun Station and Gongdeok Station on Line 5.

As a result, train operation for the relevant section of Line 5 may be delayed, so please use the train with this in mind.

The National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, which had protested, had already distributed a press release 10 days ago.

However, the actual demonstration took place at Wangsimni Station, Gwanghwamun Station, and Yeouido Station on the 20th, and some stations that were not between Gwanghwamun Station and Gongdeok Station as announced in the notice were included.

People with disabilities shouted for the right of people with disabilities to move comfortably on the subway.

They asked me to set up a budget so that even the poor in transportation would have no problem riding the subway or bus.

The <Act for the Promotion of Mobility for the Disabled> was enacted in January 2005, but 15 years have passed, and the people with disabilities are still saying that there is no change.

The right of all Korean citizens to enjoy free and safe movement, the right to move.

What is the status of mobility rights for people with disabilities?

no bus available

Buses are the most popular means of transportation for people with disabilities.

Consideration for the disabled is essential, as 31.7% of all disabled people choose it as their first choice for transportation.

In particular, if you are using a wheelchair, you need a low-floor bus without jaws.

The government has always prioritized the introduction of low-floor buses while making plans to expand convenience facilities for the transportation vulnerable.

The plan for the transportation vulnerable is established every five years, with the second from 2012 to 2016 and the third from 2017 to 2021.

The 4th plan, which will be applied from next year, is in the midst of a public hearing.

Did it go as planned?

According to the second plan, 9,594 low-floor buses were introduced nationwide from 2012 to 2016, and the ratio of low-floor buses had to be adjusted to 41.5% nationwide, but in reality only 3,621 were introduced.

In 2016, the ratio of low-floor buses nationwide was only 22.3%, far below the target.

The third plan is the same.

The ratio of low-floor buses across the country was 27.8% as of 2020, although it was said to fill 42.0% of the low-floor bus ratio by 2021.

There has never been a single case where a low-floor bus was introduced as planned.

Even Seoul, which has the most low-floor buses, is far behind the plan.

In the second plan, Seoul set a target of 55%, which is more than half, but it was not achieved, and the third plan, which was set at 65%, was not achieved as of last year.

Of the 7,392 city buses in Seoul in 2020, 4,272 low-floor buses accounted for 57.8%.

However, since 2019 in Seoul, the ratio of low-floor buses has exceeded 50%.

Q. What about intercity and express buses?

The situation of city buses is serious, but intercity and express buses are more serious.

Until just two years ago, when I went to another city, I couldn't take the bus.

Why?

There were no intercity or express buses that could accommodate wheelchairs.

It was not until 2019 that the pilot project was carried out.

And from 2020, we set a goal to introduce wheelchair-accessible buses in stages.

In 2019 and 2020, 10 units were introduced, and in 2021, 20 units, a total of 40 units.

Did it go as planned?

Why is my sad premonition never wrong?

As planned, there has never been a case where intercity and high-speed buses that can accommodate wheelchairs have been introduced.

As of December of this year, there are only two wheelchair-accessible express buses nationwide.

There is only one route between Seoul and Dangjin.

There are no places in the country where people with disabilities in wheelchairs can go using intercity buses except Seoul-Dangjin.

Elevator promised with life as collateral

In 2001, an accident occurred at Oido Station in which a disabled person lost his life.

It was an accident where the lift for disabled people fell.

After this incident, the struggle to guarantee the right of movement for people with disabilities began in earnest.

In 2002, this time at Balsan Station, a disabled person died.

Again, the lift for the disabled fell down.

When their voices did not change even if they raised their voices, the disabled went on a 39-day hunger strike.

In the end, Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak promised to install elevators in all subway stations in Seoul by 2004.

The life of the disabled has changed the subway.

The promise to install elevators by 2004 is still unfulfilled, 17 years later.

Although the government changed, there were no major changes.

In 2015, the late Mayor Park Won-soon promised to complete all construction by 2022, but that promise has not been kept.

Meanwhile, in 2017, another accident occurred at Singil Station, where a disabled person fell from a wheelchair lift and died.

From 1999 to 2020, a total of 17 lift accidents occurred on the Seoul subway, of which 4 were fatal.

As of December this year, there are 284 subway stations in Seoul.

Still, 22 subway stations don't have elevators.

There are 6 stations to be completed in 2022 and 10 stations to be completed in 2023, but there are still stations that are difficult to construct at all.

It has been 6,201 days since we waited for the promise to install elevators by 2004.

People with disabilities are still waiting for 148,824 hours of delayed appointments.

Q. Can I safely ride the subway if an elevator is installed?

Unfortunately, that's not the case.

Because of the gap between the train and the station (podium gap), disabled people in wheelchairs have to climb another big mountain.

The legal standard for podium spacing is 10 cm.

Of the 20,432 platforms in Seoul, 3,634 are over 10cm tall.

The diameter of the front wheel of a wheelchair is usually 6 inches, about 15 cm, but there are 586 places that are wider than this.

As an alternative, we have provided the use of a movable safety footrest, but it cannot be seen as a fundamental solution because you have to contact the subway station in advance and get help from the staff.

We are all traffic-impaired

The transportation weakness prescribed by the law includes not only the disabled, but also the elderly, pregnant women, people with infants, and children who experience difficulties in moving in their daily life.

In a way, we can all say that we are transportation-deprived.

We were all children, and as time goes on, we will get older.

If you give birth to a child, you will become pregnant, and if you have a child, you will be traveling with infants and young children.

In 2020, there are 15.4 million people with transportation disabilities in Korea.

29.7% of the total population.

Besides, we can become traffic-impaired from time to time.

Most disabilities are acquired by accident, that is, acquired by accident, much more often than congenital disabilities.

According to the 2017 survey on the disabled, 88.1% of the cases were acquired due to acquired causes.

Nearly 9 out of 10 people become disabled regardless of their will.

And they are the people who feel the most inconvenience among the transportation-disabled people.

People with disabilities, who feel the greatest inconvenience, continue to give their voices to the world.

to guarantee the right to move.

Last Monday's protest must have been one of many voices.

However, the related bill is still pending in the National Assembly.

A voice for resolving the 20-year-old inconvenience of disabled people may be a voice for all of us.

This is the letter Mabu News has prepared for you today.

I looked at the current situation with data on the mobility rights of people with disabilities, and I wonder what you think!

No matter how difficult the situation, should we not do something that harms others, or was it their inevitable choice?

Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Subscribing to the

Striking

Newsletter ​→ https://page.stibee.com/subscriptions/56136

: Hye-Min Ahn

: Jun-Seok Ahn

:

Seon-

Kyung Kim, Young-

Eun

Joo