Today's Korea Herald reported following:

KCTU head indicted for protests 

 
Prosecutors yesterday indicted a top official of a major labor umbrella group on charges of obstructing operations at workplaces by leading illegal demonstrations.

Lee Yong-sik, secretary-general of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, is alleged to have directed the union members of Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group to go on strike in July to protest U.S. beef imports, which was illegitimate as it failed to gain support from more than 50 percent of unionists.

Lee is also accused of taking an active role in blocking the transit of imported U.S. beef from a warehouse near Seoul in the same month.

He also organized dozens of sits-in at E.Land's Homever last year, obstructing customers' access to the retail store, according to the prosecution.

He is also alleged to have held unauthorized gatherings in June last year to prevent a law on temporary workers from coming into effect and occupying public roads during a protest against a Korea-U.S. free trade deal in November.

Also today the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) published following new report for the WTO General Council review of the trade policies in S. Korea (Geneva, Oct. 8 and 10, 2008): 

☞ Trade Union Rights Restricted in S. Korea


Related:

☞ YTN Fires Unionists Opposing New Head (K. Times, 10.7)
☞ YTN조합원 33명 부당징계… (KCTU, 10.7)