Read this article in:
23 June, 2002Following international solidarity actions, Mun Sung-hyun was set free from his detention in Seoul. He now wants to spend as much time as possible with his family.
GENEVA SWITZERLAND No one who attended the IMF Executive Committee meeting in Geneva in May will forget the 8-year-old girl in the first row, near the
podium where serious middle-aged men kept track of agenda, paragraphs and speakers. Jee-hyun stayed close to her father, Mun Sung-hyun, at this odd spot for their first-ever family holiday.
You all know the story: Mun, the then president of the Korean Metal Workers' Federation, was imprisoned when he returned to Seoul from the IMF Congress in Sydney last November, accused amongst others of violating the law on assembly and demonstration. Following worldwide trade union solidarity actions on January 22, he was set free in March, after serving 4 months out of the 18 to which he was sentenced.
Now he spoke to the IMF Executive. "With your help, with your solidarity, I was released," he said, addressing all IMF affiliates, and applause burst out. We were applauding his trade union work, the concrete actions of solidarity carried out by thousands of metalworkers, but most of all Brother Mun's freedom and his joy in rejoining his family.
In a calmer spot, some hours later, Mun tells more about his release. "I had heard that in January metalworkers rallied in 35 countries. And I knew that the South Korean government felt the international pressure on them. Yes, the release did not come as a big surprise."
Mun had been sentenced to another three years in jail, but that ruling has now been suspended for one and a half years.
During his stay in prison, Mun completed his second term as president of the Korean Metal Workers' Federation, and the union, following its statutes, chose a new leader. "I will now go back to my former work, as a lathe operator at an autoparts manufacturer in Changwon. I will be an ordinary trade union member. Only next year will it be decided what I do in the future. It might be as a trade union leader; it can also be that I run for parliament."
Now, in Geneva, those prospects seem far away. Gathering his family for a photo session, Mun tells about their coming plans.
"You know, since the mid 80s, I've been imprisoned 6 times for trade union activism, my wife 3 times. I'm so glad that we can have this holiday together now."
In a few hours, the train for the Swiss resort of Interlaken will leave. After that, the family will visit friends in Prague, Czech Republic, before returning to South Korea and Changwon.
But the repressive hand of the South Korean government and president, Kim Dae-jung, is still present in his home country. Mun, at the Executive, reminded us of the fate of all other trade unionists still imprisoned.
"Brother Dan Byung-ho of the KCTU, and many other brothers and sisters still remain in jail."
On June 27, the IMF is coordinating a second Day of Action for the release of imprisoned South Korean trade unionists, together with the Public Services International (PSI) and the support of the ICFTU.