During the morning rush hour of December 20, 2021, the Seoul Subway Line five paused for two hours due to a demonstration staged by the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination. People on wheelchairs stopped the train doors from closing while others held pickets and protested, calling for mobility rights. As one of the most fundamental rights of living, mobility rights should be guaranteed for everyone to live a decent human life. However, despite the prolonged, desperate calls of the disabled, only slight improvements have been made as mere formalities, indicating that minority protection and equity promotion remain as major tasks in the South Korean society.

There have been a series of safety issues regarding transportation usage of the disabled. In 2001, an elderly couple faced a tragic death while using a wheelchair lift at the Oido station. This became the starting point of the fight for mobility rights, intensifying voices and demands for protection of the disabled. At the time, not only were the facilities for disabled persons inadequate but also poorly managed. From a statistical viewpoint, improvements have been made in some ways such as increasing the number of elevators and wheelchair lifts in subway stations, but the continuous tragedies of similar patterns show loopholes in current policies and enforcement. 

The Current Status of Securing Mobility Rights

The installation of travel convenience facilities can be seen in subways, on buses, and special transportation services. For example, in subway stations, most wheelchair lifts are now substituted by elevators to ensure maximum safety and efficiency. Along with increasing the absolute number of facilities, post-installation management is crucial. However, challenges still exist in this management process, as inspection notices of subway elevators are not immediately informed to the public. The absence of notice signs makes it extremely time consuming and difficult for the physically disabled to find an exit.

For other transportation means, low-floor buses are being operated on a national scale. According to the data submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), the national mean introduction rate of low-floor buses was 28.4 percent in 2020. This is far less than the goal set by the government, which is to reach 42 percent by 2021. By region, Seoul had the highest rate, 56.4 percent, while Chungcheongnam-do had the lowest rate, a mere 10 percent. Such variation between regions is largely due to the difference in the amount of local governmental funds. 

In addition to low-floor buses, special transportation services are currently used to mainly support the movement of people with disabilities. As defined in the Act on Promotion of the Transportation Convenience of Mobility Disadvantaged Persons, special vehicles include call taxis and shuttle buses equipped with wheelchair boarding facilities and are mainly used by people with severe disabilities. However, a common challenge that exists for low-floor buses and special vehicles is that they are managed by regional groups, which complicates the process of traveling between cities and provinces. 

A Need for Practical Change 

On December 27, 2021, six amendments, including the Act on Promotion of the Transportation Convenience of Mobility Disadvantaged Persons, were resolved to supplement the preexisting problems. By revising the bill, the supply of low-floor buses became a mandate, and the government expects to protect mobility rights for the disabled through the increase in proportion of this transportation. The amendment additionally mandated the provincial governor to build a regional movement support center and cooperate with the city governor to establish transfer links among nearby cities and provinces.

However, there are several limitations to this revised bill. First, the amendment does not tackle the principal cause of the low introduction rate of low-floor buses. The obligation to supply low-floor buses has several exceptions. For example, if the drivers refuse to drive them for some reason, such as the road quality or difficulty of accustoming to the specific functions of low-floor buses, they can be ruled out from the obligation. Moreover, the amendment only applies to intracity buses and not to intercity buses, which means that moving in between regions is still an unsolved problem among the disabled. Lastly, low-floor buses are costly because additional components are needed in the manufacturing process; however, arranging a separate government budget is still not a requirement. 

Therefore, to reach a substantial change in the introduction rate of low-floor buses, mandatory clauses of the details, including the arrangement of a governmental budget, should be stated explicitly in the amendment. Building regional movement support centers to facilitate inter-region transfer also needs a definite budget plan. Professor Lee Dongsuk (Social Welfare, Daegu University) comments on this remaining challenge by emphasizing the appropriate role of a nation.

“Since the budget is composed of national tax, contemplating its usage is a fair decision. However, it is important to remember that human rights not only stem from equal treatment but also recognizing the need for different treatments according to the situation. It is the nation’s duty to protect the weak, and if the public officials, especially those who work at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF), misunderstand the concept of equity as equality and treat everyone the same, people who lack power and resources will have to face considerable difficulties.” 

Thus, in addition to enhancing social integration by developing general policies that involve both the disabled and the non-disabled, it is important to establish policies exclusively for the disabled. As Professor Lee underlines, “no single policy can completely guarantee the rights to move:” an integrated approach is needed for practical changes. It is necessary to implement policies that can benefit the whole – for example, the low-floor buses and travel convenience facilities in subway stations – on top of the selective policies of special transportation means such as call taxis for the disabled. All in all, the show must go on despite difficulties, as it is the society’s responsibility to properly protect the fundamental human rights of its citizens, in this case the right to move and live freely.