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17 June, 2001During the past few days, police in Seoul have persisted in attempts to arrest trade union leaders.
KOREA, REP: In the wake of a continued nationwide strike launched by 50,000 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office has been busy issuing a string of arrest warrants against dozens of key trade union leaders.
Last Friday, June 15, at 4:30 a.m., 30 to 40 plainclothes policemen were deployed to KCTU headquarters for a search and seizure operation and to arrest KCTU president, Dan Byung-ho. They were met, however, by KCTU members and withdrew two hours later after determining that the Confederation's president was not in the office. That same afternoon, at 5:00 p.m., police raided the office of the Korean Air Flight Crew Union and confiscated union documents. In the past several days, police have continued making or threatening attempts to arrest President Dan, including waiting for him at a KCTU press conference and standing guard outside KCTU headquarters.
Already this year alone - and the year is only half over - 113 workers have been jailed for their union activities. By imprisoning 552 trade unionists in just three and a half years, the South Korean president, Kim Dae-jung, has far outpaced former President Kim Young-sam's record of 507 trade unionists in five years.
Source: LabourStart/KCTU.
Last Friday, June 15, at 4:30 a.m., 30 to 40 plainclothes policemen were deployed to KCTU headquarters for a search and seizure operation and to arrest KCTU president, Dan Byung-ho. They were met, however, by KCTU members and withdrew two hours later after determining that the Confederation's president was not in the office. That same afternoon, at 5:00 p.m., police raided the office of the Korean Air Flight Crew Union and confiscated union documents. In the past several days, police have continued making or threatening attempts to arrest President Dan, including waiting for him at a KCTU press conference and standing guard outside KCTU headquarters.
Already this year alone - and the year is only half over - 113 workers have been jailed for their union activities. By imprisoning 552 trade unionists in just three and a half years, the South Korean president, Kim Dae-jung, has far outpaced former President Kim Young-sam's record of 507 trade unionists in five years.
Source: LabourStart/KCTU.