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28 October, 1999Two trade union officials have been arraigned by prosecutors to give their testimony concerning a KCTU good-will visit to North Korea.
KOREA, REP: According to the Korea Times, two trade unionists have received letters of arraignment to appear at the prosecutor's office in an investigation being carried out regarding the four-day trip to North Korea in August by a 37-member delegation of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. The purpose of the delegation's visit was to meet up with their worker colleagues of the North for goodwill soccer games.
Although the umbrella labour group received the necessary government authorisation for the trip and submitted a report to the Ministry of Unification immediately upon return to the South, prosecutors are nevertheless conducting an investigation.
The two trade unionists who have been arraigned, although they are only witnesses, are Lee Hong-woo, first vice-president of the IMF- and KCTU-affiliated Korean Metal Workers' Federation, and Joung Kyoung-eun, a member of the editing staff of the KCTU.
Incensed by the prosecution's move, a KCTU staff member said that they could not understand "why the prosecution is investigating our authorized visit to the North. Some business tycoons have often visited the communist nation even without prior approval by the government," and that they usually go unpunished for their unauthorized travel for the sake of economic interests.
Previous news items on the IMF website concerning the goodwill visit are dated August 12 and August 15, 1999.
Although the umbrella labour group received the necessary government authorisation for the trip and submitted a report to the Ministry of Unification immediately upon return to the South, prosecutors are nevertheless conducting an investigation.
The two trade unionists who have been arraigned, although they are only witnesses, are Lee Hong-woo, first vice-president of the IMF- and KCTU-affiliated Korean Metal Workers' Federation, and Joung Kyoung-eun, a member of the editing staff of the KCTU.
Incensed by the prosecution's move, a KCTU staff member said that they could not understand "why the prosecution is investigating our authorized visit to the North. Some business tycoons have often visited the communist nation even without prior approval by the government," and that they usually go unpunished for their unauthorized travel for the sake of economic interests.
Previous news items on the IMF website concerning the goodwill visit are dated August 12 and August 15, 1999.