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Yonhap reported today about ITUC's "Call on Authorities to Cease Repression of KCTU":

Int'l labor group protests detention of Korean activist

An international labor union has sent a protest letter to President Lee Myung-bak condemning the recent detention of a local activist who led street rallies against U.S. beef imports, South Korea's umbrella union said Wednesday.

Police arrested Jin Young-ok, vice president of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, and sought to detain several others for their leading role in one of the larger protests against U.S. beef in early July.

The International Trade Union Confederation, which claims the membership of 168 million workers in 155 countries and territories, said Seoul was violating international labor standards by persecuting labor leaders and suppressing street protests.

"The ITUC is extremely concerned that your government is again choosing to target top trade union leaders exercising legitimate trade union activities and even violate the privacy of their spouses," Guy Ryder, general secretary of the Brussels-based organization, said in a protest letter sent to Lee on Aug. 4.

Ryder was referring to the way Jin was arrested on July 24, with police forcefully apprehending her as she was going out to meet her husband.

More than a thousand people have been detained during months-long countrywide demonstrations opposing an agreement Seoul signed with Washington to lift a ban on U.S. beef imports.

In July, Amnesty International issued a statement condemning Seoul for using "excessive force" in the beef rallies.

"The ITUC would once more like to remind the government of Korea of its obligation under international law deriving from its membership of the ILO (International Labor Organization) to respect core labor standards, including the right to freedom of association," Ryder said.

The Korean labor union's spokesman, Lee Chang-geun, says the group has not yet received any response from the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

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