Disabled activists protest Seoul's budget cuts to job program

Hundreds of disabled individuals and activists gathered at the Seoul City Council on July 7, the opening day of the 12th council session, demanding the institutionalization of the "rights-centered public employment" program. The program, introduced by Seoul in 2020 to guarantee the labor rights and dignity of disabled people, has been expanded to 13 other local governments. However, Seoul city officials have cut its budget entirely for 2024, leaving 400 severely disabled individuals jobless overnight.

Protesters chanted slogans like "Dismissal is murder" and "Take responsibility through ordinance." Kim Yi-soo, who lost her job in the program, stated, "What we lost was not just our paychecks. In our monotonous and isolated daily lives, the most precious thing we found was the dignity of being 'working citizens.'" She declared that the dismissal that destroyed their livelihood was akin to murder.

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What we lost was not just our paychecks. In our monotonous and isolated daily lives, the most precious thing we found was the dignity of being 'working citizens.'

The Seoul City Council, now with 80 seats held by the Democratic Party and 38 by the People Power Party, faces pressure from the Democratic Party, which had previously pledged to restore the program. Choi Yong-ki, head of the Seoul chapter of the National Association for Rights-Centered Severely Disabled Public Employment, urged the council members to keep their promises made during the local elections. "We remember the promise that the Democratic Party would create these jobs," he said.

The demonstrators marched around Seoul City Hall to protest against Mayor Oh Se-hoon and submitted a request for a meeting with the newly elected council leadership. Meanwhile, Mayor Oh Se-hoon was delivering a congratulatory speech inside the Seoul City Council building.

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We remember the promise that the Democratic Party would create these jobs.