The National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Jeonjangyeon) resumed its "regular bus-boarding protest" for the first time in 22 years, causing rush-hour congestion in the city center on the 1st. Jeonjangyeon said it plans to hold regular protests every Wednesday.
Starting at 8 a.m. that day, Jeonjangyeon staged a bus-boarding protest for about an hour at a bus stop near Hyehwa Rotary in Jongno District, Seoul. Some hung placards around their necks reading "Enact the Act on Guaranteeing Mobility Rights for Transportation-Vulnerable Persons."
The Act on Guaranteeing Mobility Rights for Transportation-Vulnerable Persons is a bill that guarantees the use and access of transportation-vulnerable persons to all modes of transportation and passenger facilities and roads—including buses, taxis, shipping, aviation, and rail—and strengthens the state's responsibility for call taxis for persons with disabilities.
About a dozen activists affiliated with Jeonjangyeon, including Jeonjangyeon leader Park Kyung-seok, joined in wheelchairs. They chanted, "Guarantee mobility rights for persons with disabilities," and "Stop discriminatory buses and fully introduce low-floor buses."
They also proceeded with the protest by boarding low-floor buses one to three at a time via lifts when they arrived, and by getting out of their wheelchairs, climbing the steps, and boarding when regular buses arrived.
They referred to regular buses that wheelchairs cannot board as "discriminatory buses" and attached stickers to the front of buses demanding guarantees of mobility rights for the transportation-vulnerable. When buses refused boarding, they blocked the front of the buses.
While they attempted to board, some buses were delayed in departure for as long as about 10 minutes. This caused traffic congestion, and some passengers got off, leading to shouting and other confusion.
Police warned that they "could be punished for illegal protest and violating the Road Traffic Act," and recorded the actions of group members, but it did not lead to restraint, arrests, or taking them into custody.
By resuming the regular bus-boarding protest for the first time since 2004, Jeonjangyeon plans to launch a two-day, one-night campaign. Immediately, they will gather in front of the Seoul Public Procurement Service in Seocho District, Seoul, in the afternoon for a rally.
Afterward, they plan to march toward Jamsugyo Bridge and hold a "resolution rally calling for the real abolition of the disability grading system and institutionalization of rights-centered jobs" in the Jamsugyo area.
They will then gather in front of the Korea Fiscal Information Service (FIS) in Jung District to hold a briefing on the schedule for the 2026 New York International Struggle special delegation and announced a plan to stage a sit-in near City Hall Station.
On the morning of the 2nd, which is tomorrow, Jeonjangyeon will also resume its rush-hour subway-boarding protest—halted for half a year—on the platform for Seoul Station-bound trains at City Hall Station on Line 1.