Daily arrests in South Korea

DAY OF ACTION Read about the events in Sydney, Jakarta, Seoul, Hyderabad, Moscow, Berlin, Johannesburg, Washington, Rio de Janeiro...

SOUTH KOREA: During the ongoing World Championship in football, 23 trade unionists in South Korea were arrested and shut in jail. This brings the total number of imprisoned trade unionists in South Korea to 52. Only this week, more than 20 unionists at the Doosan Heavy Industry were targeted for arrest, including Kim Chang Keun, the President of the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU) a member of the Korean Metal Workers' Federation (KMWF). Thousands of other unionists in South Korea are subjected to other forms of legal action, and many have lost their jobs for forming a union in their work place. The arrest and imprisonment of unionists in South Korea is a flagrant abuse of fundamental workers' rights. Today, June 27, unionists will hold protests around the world, calling for the immediate release of these imprisoned trade unionists and the withdrawal of all arrest warrants issued for other trade unionists. The Day of Action is initiated by the International Metalworkers' Federation, and is carried out together with the Public Services International. The Day of Action is also endorsed by the Global Unions.