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13 December, 1999All arrested sit-in activists of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions have been released, and the union has redoubled its efforts to continue the protest action.
KOREA, REP: All 17 KCTU trade union officials who were arrested and detained by police on December 7, the second day of the union's sit-in protest action, have been freed. All were released unconditionally except for the two directors of the KCTU Organising Department, Kim Jeung-keun and Shim Dong-jin, who have been charged with "obstruction of the exercise of public law and order action" because of their alleged resistance during the police raid. They will go on trial at some future date.
The KCTU has stated that the immediate reaction of the international trade union movement to the police raid and arrests, through numerous protest letters to the Korean president, Kim Dae-jung, as well as rapidly-spread website information, helped bring about the quick release of the detained activists.
If the Korean authorities thought, however, that rough police treatment would dissuade the KCTU from continuing its sit-in, they were quite wrong. The courage and perseverance of the union confederation has only redoubled. As their cargo container shelter for the cold winter weather was stolen by the police, they have now set up over ten large tents at the same site. Some 500 workers are gathering for protest rallies every day at lunch time and in the evening. Over 100 of them spend the night in the tents. They expect to continue their sit-in and demands for passage of reform bills in labour legislation - in particular reduction of working hours and abolition of the National Security Law - until December 18, the last day of the current regular session of the National Assembly.
Although the government recently gave legal recognition to the KCTU, it will obviously require much more effort to bring about a real change in government attitude to the trade union movement.
The KCTU has stated that the immediate reaction of the international trade union movement to the police raid and arrests, through numerous protest letters to the Korean president, Kim Dae-jung, as well as rapidly-spread website information, helped bring about the quick release of the detained activists.
If the Korean authorities thought, however, that rough police treatment would dissuade the KCTU from continuing its sit-in, they were quite wrong. The courage and perseverance of the union confederation has only redoubled. As their cargo container shelter for the cold winter weather was stolen by the police, they have now set up over ten large tents at the same site. Some 500 workers are gathering for protest rallies every day at lunch time and in the evening. Over 100 of them spend the night in the tents. They expect to continue their sit-in and demands for passage of reform bills in labour legislation - in particular reduction of working hours and abolition of the National Security Law - until December 18, the last day of the current regular session of the National Assembly.
Although the government recently gave legal recognition to the KCTU, it will obviously require much more effort to bring about a real change in government attitude to the trade union movement.