Kwon Dal-ju faced charges of obstructing train operations after repeatedly boarding and alighting on Seoul subway lines in 2022
Prosecutors say exercising a legitimate right cannot constitute the 'coercion' required for obstruction charges
By Choi Eui-jong, The Herald Business
Prosecutors have decided not to indict Kwon Dal-ju, co-representative of the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD), who had been investigated on charges of delaying subway services during demonstrations demanding guaranteed mobility rights for people with disabilities.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Public Investigation Unit 3, led by chief prosecutor Kim Jeong-ok, dropped the charges against Kwon on June 18, citing insufficient evidence. Kwon had faced charges of obstructing railway traffic and interfering with business operations.
Kwon is accused of repeatedly boarding and alighting subway trains with fellow SADD activists in October 2022 as they traveled from Gwanghwamun Station to Yeouido Station, causing delays to train services. He also faces separate charges of doing the same at Samgakji Station in December of that year.
Kwon denied the charges, saying he had done nothing more than board and alight trains to call for the protection of disability rights and had not interfered with the opening or closing of train doors. He said the time it took him to board and alight was due to his disability, and argued there was no basis for a finding that he had obstructed train operations.
The Seoul Namdaemun Police Station, which investigated the case, forwarded it to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in August 2024, finding the charges of obstructing railway traffic and interfering with business operations to be substantiated. However, police decided not to refer a separate charge of violating the Railway Safety Act, finding it unsubstantiated.
Prosecutors acknowledged that in the October 2022 incident, Kwon had participated in a subway boarding protest calling for guaranteed mobility rights for people with disabilities and had repeatedly boarded and alighted trains at each stop, delaying services by approximately 57 minutes. They also acknowledged that in the December 2022 incident, Kwon had participated in a rally and delayed services by approximately 50 minutes.
Prosecutors determined that the "coercion" required to establish interference with business operations — meaning any force capable of suppressing or confusing another person's free will — cannot apply where the conduct in question can be seen as the exercise of a legitimate right, even if it results in some disruption to another party's operations. On that basis, prosecutors issued a no-indictment decision in both cases.
In the no-indictment decision for the October 2022 case, prosecutors wrote that the mere fact that train services were somewhat delayed was not sufficient to conclude that Kwon had used coercion during the boarding and alighting process to obstruct operations, or that travel had become impossible or significantly difficult.
Prosecutors also found that circumstances suggesting an intent to obstruct operations were unclear and that evidence to support the alleged facts was insufficient. No confirmed indication emerged that Kwon had participated in or been involved in speeches inside the train cars as he traveled from Gwanghwamun Station to Yeouido Station, and no conduct amounting to obstruction — such as causing a disturbance — was found.
Prosecutors further noted in the no-indictment decision that no physical confrontation or dispute between Kwon and police officers or subway security guards at the scene had been confirmed, and that footage showed a subway security guard helping Kwon board and alight.
In the no-indictment decision for the December 2022 case, prosecutors acknowledged that Kwon had delivered a speech calling for the protection of rights, but found that he had simply boarded and alighted once at each stop as trains arrived at the platform. Prosecutors concluded there was no conduct that obstructed train operations.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's Third Division, presided over by Justice Lee Heung-gu, on May 20 upheld lower court rulings sentencing Kwon and SADD co-representative Park Gyeong-seok to fines of 1 million won ($650) and 3 million won, respectively, on charges of violating the Punishment of Violences Act, including joint destruction of property. The two were indicted on charges that included affixing hundreds of stickers demanding disability budget allocations and mobility rights to the walls and floor of Samgakji Station platform in 2023.
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