Well, we should keep in mind that the DLP is the "sole legitimate child" of KCTU (DLP was created by KCTU for to have a political "representative" in election campaigns/if possible in the S.K. parliament)! But now.. (surprise, surprise!!) the "revolution" is - likely - disowning its child..

☞ No wage demands, labor boss promises (JoongAng Ilbo)

Before y'day(2.25) in Montreal/CN..

..a delegation representing the following migrant justice groups:
- Coalition In Support of Agricultural Workers-Quebec
- Immigrant Workers Center of Montreal
- Migrant Agricultural Workers Support Centre-Quebec
- No One Is Illegal-Montreal
- PINAY, the Filipino Women's Organization in Quebec
- Solidarity Across Borders
delivered a protest letter to the S. Korean consulate in Montreal:

"Once again, concerned members of the Montreal community are making direct contact with your consular officials, to bring to your attention the injustices and abuses faced by migrant workers in South Korea. We would like you to bring these concerns to the immediate attention of officials at the highest levels of the Korean government.

This month marks the first anniversary of the tragic fire at the Yeosu Foreigners' Detention Center (February 11, 2007), which killed ten migrant workers and wounded dozens more. This event was a direct result of the South Korean government's policy of crackdown and deportation of undocumented migrant workers and the poor conditions in detention centers.

A year later nothing has changed and repression against migrant workers and migrant workers' organizing continues. The government has carried out a severe attack against the Migrants' Trade Union (MTU), a union built by and for migrant workers, arresting and deporting its leadership in a targeted crackdown at the end of last year. It is also attempting to change South Korean immigration law to make it legal to enter buildings without warrants during immigration raids and stop anyone on the street "suspected of being an undocumented migrant."

We support the main demands of self-organized migrant justice groups in South Korea: stop the crackdown and deportations; legalize all undocumented migrant workers; stop the repression against MTU and migrant workers' organizing; & stop the worsening of immigration law.

Yesterday, on February 24, a nationwide rally was held in South Korea in support of these demands. We visit your offices today to re-iterate those just demands, and to stand in solidarity with the demonstrators on the streets of South Korea's cities and towns.

The migrant workers of South Korea are not alone. Locally, we struggle too against deportations and detentions, against exploitive "temporary work" programs and employers, and for workers democracy and dignity in the workplace.

We will continue to visit your office in protest until the demands of self-organized workers in South Korea and met.

An injury to one is an injury to all.

Signed,
Coalition In Support of Agricultural Workers-Quebec
Immigrant Workers Center of Montreal
Migrant Agricultural Workers Support Centre-Quebec
No One Is Illegal-Montreal
PINAY, the Filipino Women's Organization in Quebec
Solidarity Across Borders"

For more pics, please see also:

☞ 2.25 Montreal..

*****

Already Feb. 16 there was a Candle Light Protest in NYC/U.S.A.:

And last but not least.. here you can read 

☞ KASAMMAKO's protest message ..for last Sunday's MTU rally!

While the NY Philharmonic is performing in Pyeongyang the rulers (i.e. Kim Jong-il and his gang) of NK are surprising the world with new ideas of cultural "exchange". Today's Korea Times reported that the "DPRK" is inviting Eric Clapton to Perform in NK. But why Clapton? Of course he was one of the most important musicians (Yardbirds, Cream, ..) in the last century... But why he will be invited?
After a while of thinking about it I remembered that there were about two years ago some "news" about Kim Jong-chol, one of Kim Jong-il's sons.. Just check out following:

☞ N. Korea’s heir apparent follows Eric Clapton on tour in Germany
Well, it seems that the rulers in PY are thinking: "Why we need to travel around the world just to enjoy our favourite musicians? We just have to invite them - someone, whereever in the world will pay for it (just to support our "policy of detente" - haha, a f.. stupid idea of the imperialism^^) - and they will playing for us, i.e. will pay tribute to the Great Leader, aka the Sun of the 21st Century.. (the German "socialist" daily newspaper Junge Welt today called the concert of the NY Philharmonic a "belated birthday present to Kim Jong-il"/"sozusagen ein verspätetes Ständchen zum 66. Geburtstag des »Geliebten Führers« Kim Jong-Il").

Related: 

☞ 'Americans in Pyongyang' (CNN)

☞ NY Philharmonic launches music diplomacy in N.Korea (IHT)

☞ Pyongyang Residents' Reactions to Philharmonic Performance (DailyNK)

☞ Harmony across the axis of evil.. (Guardian)

☞ NY Phil. Comes and Goes, But All Remains the Same (Marmot's Hole)

Yesterday the main rally/demonstration on the occasion of the first anniversary of the fire disaster in the Yeosu Deportation Center took place in the S.K. capital Seoul. At least 600 people (according to VoP) - organized migrant workers, members of several KCTU branches, activists of  solidarity and restistance groups/organisations... - gathered for a mass rally in Seoul's University District Deahang-no and marched later through downtown Seoul to protest against the ongoing (and likely soon - after the Lee Myung-bak administration took today the "power" - increasing) oppression against "un-documented" migrant workers in general, and the MTU and its activists in particular.

source of the pics: VoP

To support the struggle of MTU in general and y'day's demo in particular an American-Korean group (Nodutdol) delivered following solidarity letter:

"To the workers of Migrants Trade Union,

We at Nodutdol for Korean Community Development write this letter to express solidarity with migrant workers in South Korea.

We are an organization based in Queens, NY, working towards the unification of the Korean peninsula, as well end to imperialist policies of the US.

It has been one year since the tragedy at Yeosu detention center took lives of detained migrant workers in South Korea. 
Instead of showing remorse and taking responsibility for what happened, the South Korean state has instead increased repression of migrant workers' rights, signified in imprisonment and deportation of elected leaders of MTU.

As South Korean economy grows and attracts more migrant workers to do its dirty work, the South Korean state should do its best to protect the workers that are traveling from far away to take on the work that Koreans are not willing to.  Instead it has reinforced and even created racist attitudes towards migrant workers, and also violated international standards for basic human rights.

We have held a candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the Yeosu fire tragedy in Queens, NY.  As part of diasporic and transnational Korean community, we also call on the Korean government to own up to the responsibility of protecting ALL WORKERS in South Korea, especially those of migrant workers who in the past have been made vulnerable by racist policies of South Korea.  The malice and negligence displayed by the South Korean government towards migrant workers is not acceptable anywhere, and is a shameful disgrace to Korean communities abroad.

Organizers Committee
Nodutdol for Korean Community Development"

Related: 

☞ "Stop Crackdown!! Win Win Labor Right!!" (VoP, article)

☞ 여수 화재 참사 1주년 이주노동자 결의대회 열려 (IBMK, article)

☞ 여수외국인보호소 화재참사 1주기 2.24 추모대회 (pictures)

And finally some more pics (by Yonhap) you can see..

☞ ..here

Create one, two, three new "progressive" parties!! (following Che's : "Create two, three, many Vietnams!"^^)
Well, when you read the following reports likely you'll come to the conclusion that - still - the most effective enemy of the political "left" is... the political "left"! (hmm, in my opinion..)

A new progressive party.. (newscham, 2.17/22)

On February 17th, the Democratic Labor Party’s lawmaker Shim Sang-jung officially declared her defection from the party and proposed the formation of a new progressive political party, vowing “to pursue a new path of a truly progressive party.”

Shim held a press conference at the National Assembly and said “I have to confess the dismal fact that the DLP has hit the ceiling that makes it hard to pursue a truly progressive political party and to make the future of progressive politics hopeful.”

About the schedule of the new party, she commented “At first, I suggest a coalition named ‘Solidarity for Building a New Progressive Party’ as a base camp against the Lee Government.” and “It is to be registered before the general election, and the substantial steps towards the formation of the party might be taken after the election.”

In a meeting with key figures of the Equality faction including lawmaker Noh Hoi-chan held on February 13th, a definite timetable of promoting the new party was set up; temporary formation before the general election, then official inauguration. With the timetable, the efforts towards new party would shift into high gear.

“The DLP is not one to defeat, we should reflect on ourselves”

Shim told the reporters “All we need is not a hut. Of course, that might be for the present a shelter from rain and wind but we need a firm house that may takes time and can endure test of the time,” and “this is the only steps we should take, for not repeating the mistakes committed before by the DLP.”

And she added “I’m not scrapping the core of the progressive party, outcomes of the past and passion for the new world, I’m scrapping the old structure of the DLP,” and “I’m not concerned with confrontation against and defeating the DLP.” She seems to want the formation of new party to avoid being seen as a factional scandal.

Shim also leaves open the possibility of coalition with Movement to New Progressive Party led by former DLP lawmaker Cho Seung-soo, saying “We’re ready to be with everyone who seceded from DLP and wants to join a new movement.” But she also added “The failure of the DLP is not committed exclusively by the NL faction. Those who are leaving the party now might not feel free form the failure of DLP. In that sense Equality faction should take their responsibility in not repeating the mistakes by reflecting on the DLP’s experiences.”

She stressed “New party we are to make should overcome the era of DLP and be responsible and accountable for the vision of lone term. Pragmatic approach to the general election cannot be allowed,” and “we have to have discussion with civic movement groups and progressive political groups over such subjects as the value, subjects and practices of progressive politics for equipping us with wider reflections than the DLP.” These might be some of the new party’s foundation statement, which has the new one distinctive from the old one.

Shim also said “I will run as a candidate of the Solidarity for Building a New Progressive Party in general election in April. Principles and directions guiding the party’s nomination for proportional representative will be what I should have applied to the DLP as the chairwoman of the emergency committee.” That is, the new party would woo well-known figures outside the party. She negated the possibility of being nominated for proportional representative herself, pointing out “I consider running as a candidate in my district as the first option.”

Shim plans to determine the party’s frameworks in detail with lawmaker Noh and announce it on February 20th, and officially propose the formation in an open forum.

If the party gets less than 2% of votes and is deregistered, it might suffer a severe political blow. “I have no idea about what result the party will get. Time is not on our side. All I can do is doing my best. That’s what I can say.” said Shim.

The split prompting the KCTU to divide

On February 16, Jun-jin (means ‘forward’), the biggest group in Equality faction, held a general meeting and decided ‘to defect from the DLP and make a new progressive party before April election through building regional committees.’ Defector group Movement to New Progressive is also known to join the Shim’s party, if Shim and Noh agree on founding a new party before the general election.

As Shim has revealed her plan of establishing the new party before the election, the leftist groups would be rapidly reorganized. Since the Jun-jin group has many union members in KCTU, which is so-called Centralists, the conflicts in KCTU between NL faction-inclined group and the Centralists inclined to Equality faction will be fuelled. Former and present leaders of KCTU including vice president Kim Eun-joo, who is known to be Centralist, are reported to declare secession from the DLP. If the KCTU divides, KCTU’s political directive of exclusive support for the DLP loses its substantial meaning.

Responding to that, Shim said “The KCTU’s line of exclusive support for the DLP has already been practically denied by union members in the last election. DLP got only about 3% of all votes,” and “withdrawal of the unilateral political line doesn’t mean negation of progressive labor politics, but that workers should participate in labor politics by themselves.”

Shim is reportedly going to bolt after extraordinary session of the National Assembly in February to deal with the immediate issues like ratification of FTA and special legislation for Tae-an residents. Shim added “Noh would keep steps with me.”

http://www.newscham.net/news/view.php?board=news_E&nid=46468

Related articles:

☞ Division of Democratic Labor Party (Hankyoreh, 2.18)

☞ DLP Destruction is Fault of Pro-N.Korea Faction (Chosun Ilbo, 2.19)

☞ Labor party moderates set to create a new party (Yonhap, 2.21)

☞ 진보신당, 3월 16일 창당대회 개최 (VoP, 2.24)

Since 79 days, if my "counter" is correct, MTU's leading activists are in sit-in strike!

The sit-in collective's daily "struggle plan"

More impressions(pics) you can see here:

☞ 이주농성장을 소개합니다!!

As you - likely - know, since the end of last year MTU activists and their supporters are protesting against the ongoing crackdown/manhunt against "un-documented" migrant workers in general and the former and present leadership of MTU in particular (among other forms of protest) with weekly candle light rallies ("culture festivals") in the center of the S.K. capital Seoul (every Thursday evening, 6:30pm, in front of Kyobo Building).

Last week's rally was a memorial "festival" for the 1st anniversary of

the fire disaster in Yeosu Deportation Center.

[The video, produced by MWTV, gives you a few impressions about the event.]

☞ 여수화재참사 1주기 희생자 추모 촛불문화재 (1)

☞ 여수화재참사 1주기 희생자 추모 촛불문화재 (2)

*****

2월 14일, 광화문 교보문고 앞에서 여수 외국인보호소 화재 참사 1주년 기념 촛불집회가 열렸다. 

10명의 이주노동자들의 목숨을 앗아간 여수보호소화재사건은 이주노동자를 필요에 따라 쓰고 버리는 소모품쯤으로 생각하는 정부의 태도가 만들어낸 참사였다. 그러나 이주 노동자를 대하는 한국 정부의 태도는 참사 이후 1여년의 시간이 지났음에도 변함이 없다.

이에 여수 화재 참사가 단지 지나간 사건만이 아님을 확인하고, 더 이상의 차별과 죽음을 끊어내기 위해 투쟁 결의를 모아내는 자리를 가졌다. 이 날 토르나 이주노조 위원장 직무대행은 노조지도부 표적단속, 출입국 관리법 개악 등과 같이 주노동자를 벼랑 끝으로 내모는 억압과 폭력에 맞서 더 힘차게 싸워나가겠다는 의지를 보였다.

이후  집회에 모인 이주 노동자, 한국 노동자, 노동․인권단체, 학생들은 비인간적인 단속추방의 현장을 담은 영상과 문화노동자들의 공연을 통해 추모와 결의의 장을 가져나갔다.

제작: 이주노동자의 방송국/MWTV

Related:

☞ [2.14]여수화재참사 1주기 추모문화제의 불을 밝히다!! (MTU)

If you want to copy/print the poster please check out (here you'll find also a version in Bangla): ☞ 224결의대회 poster (중국,방글라)

Since y'day, until the end of Feb., all N.K. citizens are celebrating(*) the birthday of the "Sun of the 21st Century", a.k.a. Kim Jong-il, well known as the "Dear Leader". (Oops~ before I forget it: of course the entire world population is doing the same!! What else??)
While the "ordinary" N.K. citizens are celebrating the birthday with mass rallies, mass dances etc, the N.K. security forces are performing mass executions - if we want to believe (..well, we don't have to do..) following strange story by today's Yonhap:

22 N. Korean drifters executed after return home

 A group of 22 North Koreans who had been returned home after their boats drifted into South Korean waters were all immediately executed by North Korean authorities, a source here said Sunday.

Two fishing boats carrying the North Koreans -- 14 women and eight men including three teenagers -- drifted into the western waters off South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island on Feb. 8 and were sent back home after South Korean interrogators found they had no intention of defecting, the National Intelligence Service said in a press release on Saturday.

The North Koreans were residents of Kangnyeong County, North Korea's southern coastal province of South Hwanghae, who went to sea to collect clams and oysters without authorization from the North Korean maritime agency, the intelligence service said.

The report of their return by South Korean authorities came after the mass circulation Chosun Ilbo broke the report in its weekend edition.

A source well-versed in North Korea told Yonhap News Agency, however, that the drifters were all executed immediately after returning home early last week. The provincial branch of North Korea's National Security Agency shot and killed them secretly, the source said.

Of the group, 13 were extended family members and nine others were their neighbors, according to the South Korean intelligence agency.

"A rumor spread in South Hwanghae Province that (the security agency) secretly executed the 22 people immediately after they were returned," the source said.

"People in the province are shocked by the fact that all of the 22 people were shot and killed without exception, such being sent to a prison camp," the source said.

South Korean intelligence officials, contacted by Yonhap News Agency, said they were not aware of the rumored execution and would try to verify it.

South Korean intelligence acknowledged there is a possibility that the returnees were executed because of their unauthorized fishing.

"I'm not aware of whether they were executed or not, but that's possible because they went fishing with no authorization from the North Korean maritime authorities," a government official said, requesting anonymity.

Given the large number of North Koreans spotted aboard, suspicions had been raised that they were seeking asylum but were returned. The fact that the majority of the drifters were women -- 14 out of 22 -- and that three students aged between 15 and 17 were aboard contributed to the suspicion of their defection attempt.

They were sent back home through a overland route after being brought to the port city of Incheon for interrogation.

The intelligence authorities denied the speculation.

The drifters "could have been sent back at the site where they were rescued, because they said they were drifting and they had no intention of defecting, but there was a large number of them, including women, so their boats were taken to Incheon for interrogation," another government official said.

Joint interrogation by the police and the National Intelligence Agency found that they were neither asylum seekers nor spies, he said...

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2008/02/17/95/0301000000AEN20080217001500315F.HTML

Marmot's Hole asked today:

☞ Were 22 Returned North Koreans Executed?

☞ What Are People Doing on Kim's Birthday? (DailyNK, 2.17)

* or better said: forced to celebrate.. (likely??!!^^)

"On every Saturday, migrant workers' supporters have a flea market at Strange Fruit Cafe, Hong-dae., Seoul from 2 - 6:30pm.

You can donate and buy some second-hand goods. All proceeds go towards the Migrant Trade Union." (seoulidarity).

Related:

☞ ..고양이시장 (미친꽃, 2.03)

☞ 홍대 이주노동자를 위한 고양이 시장에서 (2.06)

Some days ago one of my readers/visitors (or whatever..) asked - in connection to my latest contributions about the recent developments in and around the DLP - "Who cares?".. Well, at least the S.K. (bourgeois) media:

Labor Party Likely to Split Into Two (K. Times, 2.14)

The progressive Democratic Labor Party (DLP) will likely split as some lawmakers leading a major faction in the party have indicated they will soon leave the party.

DLP leaders are trying their utmost to patch up internal feuding over a party revamp plan and stop further desertions.

Reps. Sim Sang-jeong and Roh Hoe-chan had a closed-door meeting Wednesday night with about 40 party officials, who support their plan to deprive pro-North Korea party members of their membership.

As the proposal was rejected at a party convention on Feb. 3, they have agreed to create a separate party.

Most participants at the meeting said they needed to create a new party but argued over when to launch it, party sources said.

Some members claimed that they should form the party after the April 9 National Assembly elections because they need to take some time to consolidate the group.

Other members, however, insisted that the new party may not secure proportional seats if formed after the elections.

Sim and Roh, plan to announce their stance on whether or not to leave the DLP and create a new party by Sunday based on the results of the meeting.

Amid escalating speculation over a breakup, Rep. Chun Young-se, who is temporarily leading the party after Sim resigned, is scheduled to discuss ways to stop this with other party leaders next Wednesday.

However, his efforts will not likely stop further mass desertions.

A group of 145 have already relinquished their party membership, fueling the breakup.

The deserters who belonged to the party's Incheon district, said in a statement, ``The three percent of the vote that the DLP received in December's presidential election shows that the people wanted a radical change and revamping. But the party has refused to accept these calls.''

They also forecast consecutive desertion of party members while stressing that they will help create a new progressive party to protect social minorities.

The party which has nine seats in the 299-member Assembly has suffered from conflicts between two major factions since DLP candidate Kwon Young-gill was defeated in the presidential race last December.

The factional feud reached a climax after mainstreamers vetoed the party reform plan, of which a major bone of contention was whether or not to remove people engaged in pro-Pyongyang activities from party membership.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/02/113_18940.html

Related stuff:  

☞ Massive Collective Defection from the DLP (NewsCham, 1.23/2.11)

☞ Democratic Labor Party's Strategy of Siding with Kim Jong Il (DailyNK, 2.11)

One Year Ago: Horrible Fire Disaster in Yeosu Deportation Center..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjNfKXYbnq8

Few weeks ago a found a web site with some very beautiful pictures from Gaeseong (Kaesong/DPRK):

자남산에서 바라본 개성 옛도시

아름다운 작은 집/한옥

관음사 대웅전(觀音寺 大雄殿) 내부

Like everywhere in NK, also in Gaeseong: Big Brother Is Watching You!

But Gaeseong isn't just a really beautiful city, it's also - how A. Lankov yesterday wrote in Asia Times - "a breach in DPRK's iron curtain"..
Well, if you want to learn more about the reason why.. Please check out following stuff:

☞ A breach in North Korea's iron curtain (A. Times, 2.07)

☞ Eager S. Koreans Tour a Semi-Open City in the North (NYT, 1.04)

Somehow related:

☞ Bribery Required to Work in Kaesong (DailyNK, 2.04)

☞ 개성 관광

"여러분 설날 즐겁게 보내세요.
투쟁하고 계신 동지들..
힘 내시고 꼭 투쟁 승리하실 겁니다.
힘~!!" (노동의소리)

DLP on verge of split over ideology (Yonhap, 2.04)

The progressive Democratic Labor Party (DLP) is likely to break up as its two main factions have failed to narrow differences over whether to maintain strong ties with North Korea's ruling Workers' Party.

The party's moderate faction, focusing on labor, environment and other issues more closely related to people's livelihoods, is said to be preparing to form a new party. Such a move would end eight years of shaky unity, with the DLP's hard-line faction considered to be the country's sole progressive group free from the regionalism that has dominated the country's politics for the past few decades.

Some analysts say the likely breakup may be a boon to progressive forces trying to make inroads among liberal voters with an image focused on people's livelihoods rather than reconciliation with North Korea. Others say both the DLP and the proposed party may collapse, with neither having enough time to woo voters just a couple of months ahead of the April general elections.

Either way, the fate of the DLP may significantly alter South Korea's ideological spectrum amid a resurgence of conservatism following the right-leaning Lee Myung-bak's landslide victory in the Dec. 19 presidential election.

The DLP on Sunday failed to pass a critical motion to expel members related to the "Ilshimhoe scandal" -- involving a clandestine group rumored to have strong ties with North Korea's ruling Workers Party -- widening the existing rift.

The party's moderate members, who supported the motion to expel the pro-Pyongyang lawmakers, left the meeting room in anger amid rumors they will soon bolt from the party and create a new party of their own.

The internal conflict escalated following the DLP's embarrassing defeat in the December presidential election, in which its candidate Kwon Young-ghil garnered a mere 2.8 percent of the vote.

The initial responsibility fell upon Kwon and the party leadership, which resigned en masse, but the DLP moderates blamed the pro-Pyongyang rival faction, claiming the "anachronistic agenda" had driven away many voters.

The latest rift is not very surprising, considering that the two main factions of the DLP have often been in dispute over their ideological beliefs.

The DLP was established in January 2000 with the support of the National Liberation (NL) and People's Democracy (PD) groups. The two mainstream anti-government student organizations were formed in the 1980s when the country was under the authoritarian regime of Chun Doo-hwan, who seized power in a coup after the assassination of his mentor Park Chung-hee. During Park's 19 years of iron-fisted rule until 1979, the country was transformed into an industrialized nation but it faced criticism over human rights violations.

The moderate PD faction worked mainly on advocating laborer's rights, with many of its members joining trade unions to mastermind industrial actions.

The NL faction, holding a majority within the party, is a pro-Pyongyang group that prioritizes reunification of the two Koreas and focuses on stronger ties with the North's Workers' Party.

The DLP emerged as a major political force in 2004 when it won 10 seats in the 299-seat National Assembly under the proportional representation system, based on its 13 percent of the vote in the parliamentary elections.

It was the first time in South Korea's modern history that a non-region-based progressive party gained significant legislative representation.

However, the situation took a dramatic turn by the end of 2006 following the arrest of five party members on charges of spying for the North, leading to the crushing defeat in the Dec. 19 presidential election last year.

Facing growing pressure from the PD faction to push for a party split, or formation of a new party free of the pro-North agenda, Shim Sang-jung, head of an emergency committee to deal with the election's aftermath, proposed a motion to expel two senior staff members of the NL faction.

These members, linked to the North Korea-related scandal, were convicted by the Supreme Court in 2006 of spying for the North.

The terms "spy" and "pro-North Korea" have particularly strong negative connotations in South Korea, especially among members of the older generation who grew up amid high tension between the Koreas in the Cold War era.

But the NL members voted down the motion on Sunday, nullifying the emergency committee's move.

The NL faction claims that linking voter rejection and the North Korean issue is ludicrous. Asserting that progressivism is an "all-encompassing concept," the group insists that rejecting a single liberal policy like the pro-North agenda is unquestionable and that the party must move on and prepare together for the April elections.

Following Sunday's vote, members of the emergency committee led by Rep. Shim are likely to leave the party, which would cause a leadership vacuum just two months ahead of the elections. More PD lawmakers, including Rep. Roh Hoe-chan, are expected to follow suit.
Some political experts propose that the DLP try to stay away from its pro-North Korea image, but do so together.

"The DLP must change the scope of policy to more genuinely progressive credentials," said political analyst Lee Kyung-hun. "As its name symbolizes, it must work harder on protecting the laborers and the low-income bracket -- now a counterpoint to the market advocacy of right-leaning incoming leader Lee Myung-bak."
Political analyst Im Myung-jin of the Progressive Politics Institute agreed.

"Although it appears that conservatives are currently dominant, the decision to elect right-leaning candidates may simply be due to a lack of a better alternative for voters," he said.

"In order for the DLP to keep hold its position -- which is critical for a healthy ideological debate in the nation -- its members must strive to maintain unity among the various interest groups that support the progressive cause," Im added. "After all, they are all in pursuit of the same goal to improve the lives of workers and the underprivileged. Labor and progressives need to stay on the same page."

Related stuff:

☞ DLP Hardliners Throw Out Reform Attempts (Chosun Ilbo, 2.04)

☞ Labor Party moderates begin exodus (JoongAng Ilbo, 2.05)

Three weeks ago the "Emergency Committee to Stop Repression Against Migrants" (ECSRAM/이주탄압분쇄 비대위) initiated the "Internet One-Person-Demo (to support the struggle of migrant workers)". Following you can see just a few beautiful examples of the campaign:

 Many more pics of the campaign you can see here:

☞ 인터넷1인시위

☞ 사진자료실

Related:

MWTV's latest video (last week's rally in front of Seoul's Immigration Office):

☞ 당뇨병 걸린 이주노동자 치료없이 폭력적 강제출국 강행

Jin Joon-kwon(*):

"From today, the DLP is no more!"

Today's K.Times reported that the..

..Troubled DLP Leader Resigns
 

In a move that is expected to accelerate a breakup of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), the party's head stepped down Monday taking responsibility for failing to revamp the party suffering an internal rift.

Rep. Sim Sang-jeong, who temporarily led the party on behalf of the party leadership, resigned as chairwoman of the party's emergency committee over the rejection of the party reform plan during a national convention a day earlier.

As the party failed to settle disputes and narrow the opinion gap in the convention, which party members called the last chance to retain the party, the minority party will likely face a split soon.

``Yesterday, we witnessed that obsolete rules still control the party. I apologize for having failed to meet the demand from the public for party reform and I think I should take the responsibility,'' Sim told reporters at the National Assembly.

Some party members, who shared a sense of need for party reform, are moving to leave the party.

A major bone of contention for the party was whether or not to deprive people engaged in pro-Pyongyang activities of their party membership as part of efforts to shed its North Korea-friendly image.

Mainstreamers within the party, which is more critical toward the United States and favorable toward the North, opposed the plan, while the smaller faction, called the equalitarian group, insisted that the reform is a necessary sacrifice for the party to regain public trust.

In Sunday's convention, 553 of 862 party delegates voted against the reform plan which would have deprived former Vice Secretary-General Choi Ki-young and former Supreme Council member Lee Jung-hoon of their party membership.

The two figures, known as members of the pro-Pyongyang group Ilsimhoe within the party, allegedly met North Korean spies and leaked information on the DLP to North Korea on a regular basis.

Twenty-three members of the smaller faction already left the party and more officials are expected to follow suit over dissatisfaction at the rejection of the reform plan.

Sim and Rep. Roh Hoe-chan are also considering quitting the party soon, party sources said.

Deserters plan create a new progressive party which can complement insufficiency that has haunted the DLP founded eights years ago, party sources said.

Following her resignation, Rep. Chun Young-se, the only Supreme Council member remaining in the party, will lead the party until new leaders are elected.

Conflicts between the two factions surfaced after DLP candidate Kwon Young-ghil was defeated in December's presidential election with three percent of the vote, even lower than that he received in his second run four years ago and that of independent Lee Hoi-chang.

The party's popularity also plunged to a single digits from 13 percent.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/02/113_18469.html

Related: 

☞ Labor party crisis deepens (K. Herald, 2.04)

☞ DLP’s ideological feud splitting group (JoongAng Ilbo, 2.05)

* Jin Joon-kwon is a "well known" columnist and culture critic who left the DLP in 2002

Following you can read articles, reports and analyses, published during last days in the S.K. media - from the extreme conservative/right (DailyNK, JoongAng Ilbo) to the alternative/independent radical left (NewsCham/참세상):

The Debate to End the DLP’s Pro-North Korea Stance: the Roots of a 20-Year Conflict (DailyNK, 2.01)

 
It seems the conflict between the Democratic Labor Party’s two major ideological outlooks, those favoring “equality” versus those favoring “autonomy” is reaching a climax as the two sides battle over the party’s pro-North Korea stance.

After an emergency committee meeting, DLP members revealed that they would propose a measure to expel party members involved in the Ilshimhoe spy case (the Ilshimhoe was a group accused of espionage in 2005. Some of its members were also members of the DLP). The proposed measure will be put before the party’s national convention. The pro-Pyongyang “autonomy” faction, who is in the majority, is threatening to veto the proposal.

Meanwhile, the opposing “equality” faction led by former assembly member Jo Seung Soo held a launching ceremony for the “New Progressive Movement Party,” which means the equality faction is already preparing to leave the party.

“It is an inevitable process” said Joo Dae Hwan, the former chairman of the Policy Committee of the Democratic Labor Party. Due to the waning of pro-North Korea sentiments, the “autonomy” faction and the “equality” faction can no longer stay together. This current conflict within the DLP arose gradually from the two sides different positions on North Korean issues.

Mutual relations between NL and PD

Within the Democratic Labor Party, the National Liberation (NL) group represents the “autonomy” faction while the People’s Democracy (PD) group represents the “equality” faction. Both groups have their origins in 1980s South Korean revolutionary social movements.

The NL group thinks that South Korea’s problems are due to the division of the country and believe South Korea is still a colony of American imperialists. Their main enemy is the US. Additionally they emphasize “Uriminjokkiri (with our nation alone)” and support independent national reunification.

The PD group thinks that South Korea’s key problems are due to a monopolistic capitalist system. They even think that the division of the peninsula was the result of the expansion of capitalist markets. They insist the process of unification could only result from the liberation of South and North Korean laborers.

Some call the NL group the “autonomy” faction, but the “Juche Ideology faction” (Jusa-pa in Korean) is more accurate. They subscribe to the Juche Ideology of Kim Il Sung and consider the Chosun Worker’s Party as their guiding organization. This is the reason why pro-North Korea currents are so strong in the Democratic Labor Party.

The NL group has dominated the movement’s national structure since the mid 1980s, while the PD group has been on the decline since the fall of communism in the USSR and Eastern Europe.

The NL group started discussing the establishment of their own progressive party in the early-1990s. The current manifestation of the Democratic Labor Party was organized and founded mainly by the PD group with a few members of the NL group in January, 2000.

The PD dominated-Labor Party turned into the NL-led-Labor Party as the general public’s pro-North Korea sentiments grew, especially during the 2000 inter-Korea Summit. National organizations, such as the National Farmers Union and the Korean College Student Union, had announced their support for the Party by the 16th Presidential Elections in 2002.

Kim Young Hwan, a member of the editorial committee of Zeitgeist Publishing used to be the leader of the National Democratic Revolutionary Party (Minhyuk-dang), the core organization of the NL group, before switching sides and joining the North Korea democratization movement. He insisted through a telephone conversation with DailyNK that “The core members of the ‘autonomy’ faction of the Labor Party are from the Minhyuk-dang, and the Minhyuk-dang is deeply involved in controlling the Democratic Labor Party.”

“Around 30% of the NL group joined with the PD group to found the party. Since the presidential elections, 60-70% of the NL group now participates in the party and the NL group dominates,” explained Kim.

Why the end of the pro-North Korea stance?

After their miserable defeat in the 2007 presidential elections, blame fell on the “autonomy” faction because of their hegemony over the party. The “equality” faction criticized the “autonomy” faction for rubbing the electorate the wrong way with their pro-North Korea policies, thus causing their failure in the elections.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Labor Party asserted that the North’s nuclear program would only be used for the national defense of North Korea and clung to North Korea’s concept of “Uriminjokkiri.” The party found itself being criticized as a puppet of the Chosun Worker’s Party.

The “equality” faction supports improving the conditions of the domestic labor class, favoring human rights issues over unification issues, and criticizing North Korea’s nuclear development. When North Korea tested its nuclear weapons, the “equality” faction found itself unable to release a statement of condemnation due to the power of the opposing faction. Since then, conflicts within the party became more pronounced.

The “equality” faction criticized their counterparts for their indifference to the North Korean regime’s human rights record while the “autonomy” faction accused the other side of not acknowledging the peculiarity of inter-Korean issues.

“Supporting North Korea without any conditions, the motto of the ‘autonomy’ faction, is not the spirit of this party. They consider our party a vehicle for North Korean propaganda,” said Jo Seung Soo

On the other hand, Kim Chang Hyun, the former secretary general of the party, and a member of the “autonomy” faction, retorted, “If the ‘equality’ faction considers North-South relations as relations between sovereign states, it is as though they support a permanent division.”

It is obvious that a party split is inevitable, as the “autonomy” faction remains silent on the worst human rights situation in the world. 

http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00400&num=3212

Related articles:

☞ 2 senior members exit Democratic Labor Party (JoongAng Ilbo, 2.02)

☞ DLP Seeks to Shed N. Korea-Friendly Image (K. Times, 1.30)

☞ Discussion about a New Progressive Party Emerged (NewsCham, 1.28)

☞ “총선 전 창당하자” vs “민주노동당 사정일 뿐” (참세상, 2.01)

☞ '민주노총당', '친북당' 등 표현 삭제 (민중의소리, 2.03)

Jan. 30, only one day after I published the latest news about comrade Suwash he was deported without to get any medical treatment. Despite the protests, respectively the demand for to release him for medical treatment  by MTU and several S.K. human right, left political and labour organizations the MoJ/Immigration Office decided to send him back to Nepal, where he arrived yesterday.
Today, to protest against the deportation, MTU and several other orgainzations held a press conference in front of Seoul's Immigration Office..

Following you can read the news about Suwash's case by MWTV and IBMK:

Nepalese Migrant Worker, Suwash, Deported

Suwash, a manager of the Sung-dong branch of the Migrants' Trade Union was deported on Wednesday, January 30th. The Nepali worker spent months at the the Hwaseong Detention Center without getting proper treatment for his diabetes. Ignoring the calls of doctors and NGOs, the Ministry of Justice and the Immigration Office chose deportion instead of giving Suwash the medical treatment he required. The Ministry of Justice argued that they deported Nepalese because his diabetes had gotten better.

Aware of the deportion plans, members of the MTU sit-in struggle team blocked the gates in front of the Hwaseong Detention Center around the clock from January 29-30th. It was only when they demanded to see Suwash for an interview on the afternoon of January 30th that they were told that Suwash had been secreted out of the Center and put on a plane back to Nepal. 

Suwash had come to S. Korea on March 11th, 2003 as a trainee, becoming an undocumented worker after 3 years. He was caught by Immigration officials in a crackdown in July 2007. He had summited a petition over the violation of his human rights to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea but was turned down on the 28th of January. Protests against the deportation of Suwash are ongoing.

Immigration Office deported a migrant worker

with diabetes..
The application for temporary release was rejected without any reasons. 

The Seoul Immigration Office rejected the application for temporary release of Suwash Budathoki, a Nepalese migrant worker suffering from diabetes and complications and deported him on January 30.

After hearing the news of deportation of Suwash, members of Migrant Trade Union and about ten civic group activists have went on a sit strike in the front of Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center since January 28.

Their last meeting with Suwash was at 10 a.m on Jan 30. At that time he asked to have endoscopy, complaining about stomachache. He said that he couldn’t sleep last night because of pain.   

The Migrant Trade Union and civic group activists stayed in Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center to confirm his deportation at around 4 p.m. on Jan 30.

Suwash Budathoki had been detained in Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center for 7 months. He had suffered from diabetes before arrest and in the center; complications were developed so he asked for temporary release. The Seoul Immigration Office accepted at first, however, the Justice Ministry requested reexamination without any reasons and finally, the application was rejected.

http://211.47.69.86/~migrantsmulti/?document_srl=14487#0

Related articles in Korean:

☞ "대한민국에 인권이 있는가?" (이주탄압분쇄비대위, 2.01)

☞ 법무부 병든 이주노동자에 '가혹행위' (참세상, 2.01)

For more (but unfortunately only/nearly only in Korean) please check out:

☞ ECSRAM/이주탄압분쇄비대위

☞ MTU/이주노동자 노동조합