The leader of a disability rights advocacy group at the center of controversial rush-hour subway protests has been referred to prosecutors on charges of staging illegal demonstrations, law enforcement officials said Monday.

Park Kyoung-seok, the 63-year-old co-leader of the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, was referred to the prosecution by police on Thursday on charges of illegally occupying roads and obstructing subway services during 38 protest rallies across Seoul during the two year period until January.

Demanding an increased budget for people with disabilities and their mobility rights, SADD has staged protests at major subway stations in central Seoul on and off, where wheelchair-bound activists repeatedly boarded and disembarked trains to disrupt metro services during the morning rush hour.

Park is also facing separate charges of property damage in connection with campaign stickers he put on a platform at Samgakji subway station. The case was also sent to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors Office last month.

In a press conference on the platform of Hyehwa subway station on Monday, Park said he had been summoned by Yongsan and Hyehwa police stations for questioning but vowed "not to stop the subway protests." (Yonhap)