Korea Federation of Trade Unions Considers Boycott of KSA and Condemns Police Violence: Latest Updates

2023-06-02 07:23:31

Korea Federation of Trade Unions also reviewing boycott of KSA
The only dialogue window between labor, management and government will be closed

On the 2nd, in front of the National Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, martyr Yang Hoi-dong, labor, civil society, religious and cultural groups, joint action activists, and members of the construction union held a press conference. On the 31st, in front of the Finance Building in Jung-gu, Seoul, Choi Jin-ho, a member of the construction union who was injured in police suppression during the process of setting up an incense burner for the late construction worker Yang Hoe-dong, is wearing a cast on his left arm. Reporter Kim Hye-yoon [email protected]

“Why on earth are you so upset that you can’t kill us? National Police Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun, who puts the people at risk for the sake of selective rule of law and justice, is not needed by the people.” (Choi Jin-ho, construction union member) came out On the 23rd of last month, after President Yoon Seok-yeol called for a stern response to illegal demonstrations, controversy over the police’s violent response continued, and labor complaints seemed to explode. On the morning of the 2nd, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ Construction Workers’ Union and ‘Joint Action for Martyrs in Yanghoe-dong’ held a press conference in front of the Seodaemun-gu Police Station to condemn the anti-human rights immoral violent police and accuse them of illegal acts. On the 31st of last month, in the process of attempting to set up a memorial altar for Yang in front of the Finance Center building in Taepyeong-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, the police immediately removed the tent and a clash broke out. In the process, four union members were arrested on charges of obstruction of justice, and four others, including Choi, were injured. Member Choi, who went to the press conference with a cast on his left arm, said, “With screams and cries in many places, the peaceful cultural festival turned into a mess. I felt the pain as if my arm was being ripped off by 5 policemen,” he said. Attorney Kwon Young-guk (co-representative of joint action) said, “The government and police are driving the workers out as if they were a criminal group that paralyzes the city traffic by blocking the square and making it impossible not to hold a rally on the road.” Regarding), he committed an illegal act of demolishing a citizen’s incense burner without presenting a warrant for administrative execution. Democracy is crumbling because of police brutality and violence.” Jeong Ki-ho, head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said, “Despite the fact that administrative vicarious execution can be done when a demolition order is given in advance and it is not followed, it was demolished immediately without such a procedure. In principle, it should be done by public officials belonging to Jung-gu, Seoul, but it was carried out by the police, who have no real authority,” he explained. The 100-person defense team of the KCTU construction union plans to sue and accuse the person in charge of the site for △abuse of authority, obstruction of exercising rights, △abuse of authority, arrest and confinement, △assault, and △damage of property. Following this, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions also held a press conference condemning the police regarding the violent suppression of Kim Joon-young, secretary general of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, who was arrested on the 31st of last month with a severe head injury during a high-altitude sit-in near the Posco Gwangyang steel mill in Gwangyang City. Kim Dong-myeong, chairman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, said, “The brutal and uncontrollable police violence that beat up the evicted residents of Yongsan and the workers of Ssangyong Motors has revived again, and if this is left unattended, the second and third Gwangyang incidents are inevitable.” Police Commissioner General Yoon Hee-geun urged the resignation of the Gwangyang Police Station and judicial treatment of the on-site riot police. Chairman Kim said, “The fundamental cause of this Gwangyang incident is the Yoon administration’s hostile policy toward labor and hatred of unions.” The Federation of Korean Trade Unions plans to hold a central executive committee meeting on the 7th to officially discuss the withdrawal from the Economic, Social and Labor Committee under the president. The meeting of labor, management, and government representatives of the Labor Relations Commission, which was scheduled to be held earlier on the 1st, was canceled as the FKTU announced that it would not attend.