Activists from Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD), who were indicted on property damage charges for plastering stickers and spraying lacquer at a Seoul subway station in 2023 to demand mobility rights for people with disabilities, have had their fines confirmed.
The Supreme Court's third division, with Justice Lee Heung-gu as the presiding judge, on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced Park Kyoung-seok, SADD's standing co-representative, to a fine of 3 million won on charges of violating the Punishment of Violences Act (joint property damage). Standing co-representative Kwon Dal-ju and activist Moon Ae-rin, who were tried alongside Park, each received confirmed fines of 1 million won.
On February 13, 2023, Park and the others affixed hundreds of stickers and sprayed lacquer on the walls and floor of the platform at Samgakji Station on Seoul Subway Lines 4 and 6, demanding budget allocations and mobility rights for people with disabilities. Prosecutors indicted them in January the following year, charging that they had damaged property belonging to Seoul Metro.
The first-instance court acquitted Park and the other defendants, finding it difficult to conclude that the stickers had impaired the function of the building's interior walls and floor.
The appellate court, however, found them guilty and imposed fines. The court ruled that even though the stickers did not directly cover guidance signs on the platform walls, they would have caused inconvenience to subway users in locating directional markers. It also cited the likelihood that many users felt displeasure or resistance due to the damage to the platform's appearance, and noted that about 30 Seoul Metro employees spent two days on removal work to restore the original condition. The court determined that the conduct could not be recognized as a "lawful act not violating social norms" — a justifiable act that would eliminate illegality under criminal law. "Even considering that the act stemmed from a purpose to publicize the reality that mobility rights for people with disabilities are not guaranteed, it is difficult to acknowledge the urgency, inevitability, or proportionality required for affixing hundreds of stickers without seeking other lawful means," the court explained.
The Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling. "There is no error in the lower court's guilty verdict that exceeds the limits of the principle of free evaluation of evidence or misunderstands the legal principles regarding the establishment of violations of the Punishment of Violences Act and justifiable acts," the Supreme Court said.
