Jongno Police refer Park on joint failure-to-vacate, obstruction charges

Police: other protesters could not be identified

Second referral within a month, following September election law case

Park Kyung-seok, standing chair of the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, takes part in the group's 69th "Ride the Subway to Work" protest at the Seoul Station-bound platform of Line 1 at City Hall Station in July. [Yonhap]
Park Kyung-seok, standing chair of the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, takes part in the group's 69th "Ride the Subway to Work" protest at the Seoul Station-bound platform of Line 1 at City Hall Station in July. [Yonhap]

Park Kyung-seok, standing chair of the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD), has been referred to prosecutors on charges of failing to vacate a subway station and obstructing operations during a morning rush-hour protest at Gwanghwamun Station — roughly a month after a separate referral on a Public Official Election Act violation.

The Seoul Jongno Police Station said Tuesday it referred Park to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office on Oct. 30 on charges of joint failure to vacate under the Act on Punishment of Violent Acts and obstruction of business under the Criminal Act. The referral came about 11 months after a complaint was filed on Dec. 1 last year.

The case stems from SADD's 66th "Ride the Subway to Work" protest, held around 8 a.m. on Nov. 18 last year at Gwanghwamun Station on Seoul Metro Line 5. About 70 people gathered to demand guaranteed mobility rights and a disability-inclusive budget. Seoul Metro began running trains through the station without stopping — on the inbound line from 8:33 a.m. and on the outbound line from 8:50 a.m.

The complainant, a civic group called Jayu Daehan Hogukdan, alleged that participants continued the protest on the platform for about an hour despite being ordered to leave by railway workers. The complaint cited violations of Article 49 of the Railway Safety Act, joint failure to vacate, and obstruction of business under Article 314 of the Criminal Act.

After a lengthy investigation, police found sufficient grounds to refer Park on the failure-to-vacate and obstruction charges. Other participants in the protest were excluded from the referral because police said they could not be identified. "The only person referred in this case is Park," a Jongno Police official said. "There are aspects where the other participants could not be identified."

The Railway Safety Act violation cited in the complaint was excluded from the referral because it carries an administrative fine rather than criminal punishment. Police said there was "no particular reason" for the roughly 11-month investigation.

The complainant has pushed back against the decision to refer only Park. Jayu Daehan Hogukdan submitted a written opinion to the prosecutors office Monday calling for further investigation into the other participants. "They continued the protest for more than an hour after being told to leave — can that really be considered a voluntary departure?" a representative of the group said. "The other participants should also be held accountable under the law."

Park described the events differently. "The trains passed through without stopping, so we were not actually able to board, and we ended the event after finishing our demonstration," Park said. "There was no particular physical confrontation with Seoul Metro."

Park also rebuffed the failure-to-vacate charge. "Even if we are simply holding pickets and demonstrating, the station plays the same departure announcement every day," Park said. "Treating a peaceful activity with no physical confrontation as disorderly conduct is a completely backwards response." Park added that the government's failure to guarantee even the basic mobility rights of people with disabilities made resolving discrimination the more pressing priority.

Earlier, Park had been referred to prosecutors on Sept. 23 on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act — for using a microphone during a disability mobility rights protest near Hyehwa Station in May to appeal for support for a Seoul city council candidate in the local elections. The two referrals, arising from separate protest incidents, came within about a month of each other.


jookapooka@heraldcorp.com