CINA

본문

Despite Int'l Protests: The Repression

Against KCTU Goes On!

본문

Well, it tooks weeks until the S.K. bourgeois press reported about the hunger strike and sit-in protest of Kiryung Electronics union activists, but finally at least Korea Times today did it (likely only because of the latest dramatic development?!):

70 Days of Hunger Strike for 'Survival'

Sixty-seven days into a hunger strike in a shoddy tent pitched atop a guardhouse

at the gate of her company, Kim So-yeon, 39, the union leader of Kiryung

Electronics, was transferred to a hospital Saturday. Even lying on a hospital bed in

northern Seoul, she refuses to stop her fast, which hit 70 days Wednesday.

Kim So-yeon, right, union leader of Kiryung Electronics, and another union

member Yoo Heung-hee, sit on top of a guardhouse at the gate of the company

during their hunger strike in northern Seoul. After 67 days of the fast demanding

stable employment for temporary workers, they were taken to hospital, Saturday

Another union member Yoo Heung-hee was also hospitalized on the same day.

Their struggle has become a rallying cry for numerous temporary or contract

laborers to gain permanent status at work. Kim and Yoo went to the hospital only

after other laborers and civic groups members persuaded them to do so amid

worries over their deteriorating health due to the hunger strikes.

After receiving basic medical treatment, however, Kim now continues her fast at

the hospital. She says she is continuing it only to survive.

"The issue of temporary workers is not only about employment but also human

rights,'' Kim told The Korea Times. "You cannot easily understand the feeling of

being treated like a disposable item. It's so miserable and painful. It's hard to

describe that feeling.''

Some 10 female unionists started a hunger strike on June 11, setting up a tent

atop the guardhouse, following fruitless sit-ins of more than 1,000 days. Most of

them gave up over health problems, but not Kim and Yoo.

"I climbed up there thinking I would never walk on the ground again unless our

demands were met. Of course, it was a painful experience for women,'' she said.

As they had to live in a tent, they also had to relieve themselves inside the tent.

The unusually hot weather this summer also added to their pain.

Despite their hunger strike lasting 70 days, their cause is drawing little media

attention because of the Beijing Olympics. Their company is also turning a deaf

ear to their demands.

"You can't sleep there when it rains and you can't lie down on the ground when it's

so hot. For women, everything up there was so miserable. But the most difficult

thing was that the company ignored us,'' she said.

Kim has lost nearly 13 kilograms and now down to about 40 kilograms. She is

refusing meals, taking only water, salt and yeast.

Proxy Fight

They did not expect their fight to last this long. Non-permanent workers at Kiryung

formed a union and went on strike in August 2005 for the promotion of their job

status. Their strike laid bare unfair practices at Kiryung and other companies in

Seoul's Guro Industrial Complex, which indirectly hire temporary workers from

outsourcing companies to avoid responsibility. In 2006, a court fined the company

five million won for committing illegal hiring practices.

"If you want to talk about problems with your boss, you'll hear 'We don't need

you' and 'You are fired.' After overtime and overnight work, you will get a text

message saying 'You're fired.' We simply wanted to change these inhuman

practices,'' Kim said in a weak but firm voice.

As the strike continued, the company president sat down at the negotiating table

on June 7. He proposed taking on temporary workers permanently after "a year

of training,'' and the union accepted. The next day, however, mid-level managers

rejected the deal and everything fell apart.

Lee and other union members resorted to an extreme measure ― fast for an

unlimited period unless their demands were met.

The company says, however, that it has no legal responsibility for them since they

are not on the payroll, but simply temporary workers from an affiliate.

The union says employers take advantage of loopholes in the Labor Law that

require employers to promote the status of contract workers after two years of

employment. Most employers, however, simply terminate the contracts just

before their two-year term ends.

Kim's struggle mirrors the situation that all temporary workers face.

"I wish temporary workers wouldn't give in. A wise solution to our problems here

can be the key to solving problems facing other non-permanent workers. I think

the government should also come up with more practical steps to help resolve

this impasse,'' she said. "Until then, I will continue to fight.''

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/08/117_29690.html

Already on Monday the "left-liberal" Hankyoreh published following short report:

Kiryung Electronics strike

Kim So-yeon, who is the leader of the Kiryung Electronics’ union and has been on a hunger strike for the past 67 days, is carried by a rescue team to a hospital on August 16.

Kim and fellow union member Yoo Heung-hee, who has been having lung problems, both succumbed to union members’ requests that they go to the hospital.

The Kiryung Electronics union has been on strike for over 1,000 days, hoping that the company will convert their status from irregular to regular workers. Despite a deadlock in negotiations with the company, the union plans to continue their efforts with the added participation of civic organizations, the umbrella labor union Korea Confederation of Trade Unions and the Democratic Labor Party.

Related reports:

☞ 김소연·유흥희, 16일 오전 병원으로 (VoP, 8.16, incl. video)

☞ 기륭분회 단식자, 병원으로 이송 (참세상, 6.16)

☞ 기륭분회, 67일간의 단식 (참세상TV)

본문

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.

Related stuff (MUST READ!!^^):

☞ International Trade Union Joins in Stupidity (RoK Drop, 8.13)

본문

Irregular female workers of Kiryung Electronics are today since 1,085 days in strike and some of them since 63 days in sit-in protest and hunger strike. Last Friday Hankyoreh published following editorial about their case:

How long can we put the lives of irregular workers at risk? 
  
The day of the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics, August 8, is also the 1,081st day of a difficult fight by irregular female workers at Kiryung Electronics. They are resisting their wrongful dismissal and demanding “direct” employment. It is also the 59th day of a sit-in protest and hunger strike against the company’s reneging on a last-minute agreement that had been arrived at with company management.

Last Thursday: Hunger strike since 58 days

There should be no need to describe what the situation is for these laborers, since for two months they have been camping out atop the guardhouse at the front gate of the company’s plant, sometimes facing violent heat and sometimes facing violent rains. Medical personnel who have met with them say they have arrived at their “medical limits.”

Today: Hunger strike since 63 days!!

At negotiations held June 7 that took place with much difficulty, the president of the company proposed hiring people as regular employees “after a year of training,” and workers accepted the plan. The very next day, however, mid-level managers came out in opposition to the deal and it collapsed. It was absurd. If the agreement had been abided by, female laborers of Kirung Electronics would never have gone on a hunger strike that is putting their lives at risk.

The company’s position is that it cannot give them regular employment because it is going to stop plant operations in Korea and start up one in China. The ruling Grand National Party even came up with an arbitration plan on July 23, but it was something utterly unacceptable to the protesting workers, who have been on strike for three years demanding direct employment. The GNP suggestion is that the company guarantee only that they be hired as irregular workers by a new outsourcing company, whose legitimacy has been in question, with a final decision made on whether they are given regular status after a year and a half.

With things as they are, this hunger strike by female employees is going to continue. If so, their lives will be at risk. Legislators, members of the Lee Myung-bak administration, and civil society need to take a special interest in the situation and rise to resolve it. Management and laborers need to take a step back and make a concentrated effort to produce an amicable agreement.

The issue of giving full-time, regular employment to the workers laid off by Kiryung Electronics is a question that urgently requires serious dialogue about whether hiring them that way would really be impossible, whether there are alternatives that would give them the same job quality and security if they cannot be fully hired, and how to relieve the mutual resentment between labor and management that has accumulated over the past three years. There is not much time. Our society becomes a barbarous one if we ignore these workers putting their lives on the line in a hunger strike. Now is the time for all of us to pool our strengths together to allow them to return to the company smiling.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_editorial/303092.html

Hankyoreh editor’s note: The Kiryung workers’ demand for “direct” employment is based on a desire for change in the system many companies use to employ irregular workers. The system is “indirect” when workers are hired by an outsourcing company for employment at a second company, which takes no responsibility for the worker or their rights.

Related articles/reports:

☞ 기륭 단식자들, 소금과 효소마저도 끊어 (NewsCham, 8.12)

☞ "오늘부터 소금과 효소도 끊습니다" (VoP, 8.12)

☞ 기륭전자 단식 63일째... (OMN, 8.12)

☞ 광화문과 기륭의 촛불이 만난 날 (VoP video, 8.11)

Yesterday: Candle-light protest meets Kiryung Strike (web poster)

본문

Int'l Solidarity With KCTU

LabourStart ("Where trade unionists start their day on the net") yesterday afternoon launched "what might be the most important online campaign we've ever done". In a letter to all LabourStart correspondents they explained:

"As you may know, the South Korean government has launched a brutal
assault on that country's trade union movement. Arrest warrants have
been issued for the leaders of the Korean Confederation of Trade
Unions (KCTU) including their president and general secretary.
Leaders of other unions have also been threatened with arrest. The
KCTU's vice president has been jailed. The union leaders are holed up
inside the union headquarters, the building surrounded by police.
They have asked for our help.
This afternoon, we launched a major new LabourStart campaign which is
in the process of being translated right now. We hope to have it
running in no fewer than ten languages."

And in less than 24 hours already more than 2,100 people supported the English version of the campaign (it's now working in six languages - English, French, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian and Italian)!

If you want to support the campaign, go to:

☞ Act NOW!

Korea: Stop arrests of trade union leaders

Following a massive wave of protests and demonstrations, on 24 July the South Korean government issued arrest warrants for top leaders of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) including Lee Suk-haeng (President) and Lee Yong-shik (General Secretary). Ms. Jin Young-ok, First Vice-President of the KCTU has been arrested and detained.

The police surrounded the building where the main office of the KCTU is located, ready to move in and arrest the leaders. Arrest warrants have also been issued for other union leaders (see list below).

This anti-union repression threatens to return Korea to the dark days of the military dictatorship which ended two decades ago. Korean trade unionists are asking for a huge international campaign to pressure their government to respect human rights.

List of other trade union leaders for whom arrest warrants have been issued:

Jung Gab-deuk, President, KMWU
Nam Taek-gyu, First Vice-president, KMWU
Yoon Hae-mo, President, Hyundai Motor Branch
Kim Tae-gon, First Vice-president, Hyundai Motor Branch
Kim Jong-il, Vice-president, Hyundai Motor Branch
Jung Chang-bong, Vice-president, Hyundai Motor Branch
Joo In-koo, Vice-president, Hyundai Motor Branch
Jo Chang-min, Secretary,Hyundai Motor Branch

http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=402

Related:

☞ KCTU's call for int'l solidarity

☞ 민주노총사수…'8.5 서울집중투쟁!'

☞ More Attacks Against KCTU - Protests Are Continuing

본문

Well, tomorrow's evening/night protest against G. W. Bush's visit in Seoul in particular and the LMB gov't in general may be a very special "event":

The organizers of the anti-Bush/anti-gov't protest are expecting "at least 10,000 demonstrators". The first rally, organized by the anti-war movement, starts at 5:30 pm in front of Boshin-gak. Later at 7:00 pm the main anti-Bush event will be opened at Cheonggyecheon Plaza with a "Candlelight Culture Festival"...

According to K. Herald at least 16,000 riot cops will be mobilized to "prevent every illegal demonstration" (i.e. likely to suppress almost all protests)!

Already last Friday Yonhap reported that the riot cops will use "pepper spray and other tear-producing chemical agents to quell violent rallies, Seoul's police chief warned a few days ahead of U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to South Korea". They will also use "fluorescent-colored water cannons so that violent protesters can be easily picked out of the crowd by their stained clothing."

So it seems that tomorrow night for the fist time the new established riot police unit will also have its first "public performance"!

And additionally, according to K. Times, "a coalition comprised of 374 conservative groups, including the New Right Union and Korean Veterans Association, will stage a large-scale demonstration welcoming Bush, at Seoul Plaza, just a short distance from the progressive's rally site.
They will hold a prayer meeting organized by the Christian Council of Korea at 4 p.m., which will then be followed by the welcoming gathering. The coalition expects 50,000 participants at the prayer meeting, and 200,000 at the gathering."

*****

본문

Well, I know... Last weekend's anti-gov't protest night (7.26/27) wasn't a very special/exciting event (compared to other "ordinary" protests in S.K.!), although 15,000 activists (during the entire night some 1500 activists were confronted with 11,000 riot cops..) gathered in downtown Seoul, according to today's bourgeois Korea Herald. 

But there are also - surprise, surprise!! - some voices who must make a fuss about it!

Like Scott B. (aka "King Baeksu"), an US American, who's residing since several years in Seoul. On Sunday he published his following "experience" about the protest night, incl. a proposal how YOU CAN SUPPORT the S.K. ruling class - i.e. the gov't and its instrument of oppression, the riot cops!(*):

Another Saturday Night in Chongno

So here's what the "peaceful" anti-2MB protesters did to the evil "violent" police and other "reactionary" elements on Saturday night, July 26th:

1. At around 8pm, about 1,000 protesters had occupied the main intersection at Chonggak so that no cars could go through.
After a while, the police opened the street (Chongno) by marching in a forward straight line, but with restraint and without hitting anyone that I could see. For some reason, after about 30 minutes the police decided to retreat, and one large line of police started retreating towards Ch'onggyech'on. Thus, they had left the entire intersection of Chonggak open again to the protesters, without arresting anyone or anything.

As the police were retreating, many protesters started charging at them and actually hitting them with their fists. There was the usual media frenzy, of course, flashes everywhere and whatnot. The most hilarious part was that the protesters were actually shrieking "Violent police!" as they were hitting the police! I thought this was just absurdly ironic and nothing else until I saw that one slight young policeman had been knocked unconscious by the protesters and had to be carried to the sidewalk and laid down. He was out for a while and eventually regained consciousness (volunteer protest medics and other police were attending to him), but couldn't stand up, so after waiting about 15 minutes an ambulance finally came and took him away.

Of course, none of the usual suspects were there to document all this, like Hankyoreh, MBC or KBS. I asked several protesters why they were complaining about the violent police when they were hitting police first, and they all whined, "The police started it!" like third graders. Remember: THE POLICE WERE RETREATING when this poor young guy was KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS!

2. At about 10pm, the police had prepared to go through the same routine again and open up Chonggak to traffic. They had much larger forces this time and again opened up the intersection without using clubs or the water cannon, just fire extinguishers a couple of times as far as I could see. I was standing in front of Boshingak when I noticed that a riot policeman had been pulled off the line and was being dragged towards Boshingak by a screaming group of protesters. Some yebigun (reservists) and other protesters were trying to protect him, but several other protesters were rushing forward and getting in cheap shots, despite the fact that the policeman had lost his helmet and had his arms pinned to his sides.

I was so pissed off after having seen that earlier policeman knocked unconscious that when one chubby young college student in wire-rimmed glasses, a white polo shirt and white surgical face mask rushed up and tried to hit the captured policeman in the head -- and from behind no less -- I immediately grabbed one of his backpack straps and yanked him away before the blow could land. He was quite light and I pulled him several feet from the scrum, but made sure not to actually hit him myself.

When he turned around and looked at me, the expression on his face was priceless. He had prepared this "I'm a poor victim, what are you doing to me?!" look that instantly morphed into utter confusion and bewilderment, since a foreigner was standing there glaring at him and he had nothing to say in defense since he had just been trying to hit a defenseless young kid himself.
I was even more disgusted by this little coward when I saw how easily he backed away from me in fear and confusion.

So here again we have another "peaceful" protester trying to attack the "violent" police, and you can almost guess what cliche he whined at me before slithering back into the crowd: "The police started the violence!"

Right!

3. At about midnight the police had kept the Chonggak intersection open successfully for a while and there were just a couple hundred protesters milling about the plaza in front of Boshingak yelling "Violent police!" and whatnot as usual. There were some funny scenes: One young kid was screaming at the police for like 5 minutes so loudly that I thought he had gone insane, and kept pretending to run up and attack the police before stopping at the last second. The police did nothing, of course, despite this clear provocation. After a while I saw him sitting down on a rock nearly hyperventilating, and of course a half dozen volunteer medics rushed over and treated him like some poor victim that had just been brutally assaulted by the police, asking him repeatedly, "Are you OK? Are you OK?" and taking his temperature and so on.

Another tall guy was holding a white handkerchief to the top of his head and being interviewed by two young female reporters. They got his name and number and his story about how he had apparently been hit by the police or some such. I noticed that there was no blood and his eyes looked very sharp and he was certainly in good shape by all appearances, but the reporters scribbled down his testimony in their notebooks with breathless concern and effusive empathy. After the guy left, I went up to them and after confirming that they were journalists, I asked them, "If a protester lies to you, how can you know that? How do you confirm what you're told by them?" They looked totally confused and after a beat or two they replied lamely, "Well, we ask other people for their stories, too." I certainly hadn't seen them trying to look for witnesses for the story of the guy they had just interviewed.

Suddenly, there was a big commotion by the metal fence in front of Boshingak. A big chubby ajosshi in a white dress shirt and wire-rimmed glasses was surrounded by several dozen screaming protesters. They were claiming that he had "attacked" some poor haraboji, who was nowhere to be found. There was a lot of screaming and yelling at the guy, who was slightly drunk and had two other friends trying to protect him, one in his thirties and another in his fifties, also in white dress shirts;
apparently they had just been out for a night on the town in Chongno-2-ga. The chubby ajosshi kept saying, "Just go away!" but the protesters wouldn't, so he calmly pulled out his cellphone, called the police and said very evenly in a low voice, "I'm in a bit of a dangerous situation here..." As soon as he said that, the protesters went mental and one guy in a pink shirt rushed up and smacked the ajosshi in the head, breaking his glasses which flew to the ground. Two other guys in red-bandana face
masks were standing behind the fence and also got in two cheap shots to the back of the ajosshi's head. Fortunately, another one of the protesters blocked the ajosshi and begged for calm. The first guy who had hit the ajosshi was dragged away by other protesters, practically screaming bloody murder at the ajosshi. A second later, some other young kid also tried to hit the ajosshi, landing an indirect blow to his chest, but eventually the violence was contained and there was a long discussion about how the ajosshi needed to "apologize to the haraboji."

So they found the haraboji and the ajosshi got on his knees and begged for forgiveness. The haraboji seemed cool and they quickly made up, but all the other protesters were standing in a circle around them talking about how the ajosshi had "beat up this poor haraboji for no reason" and taking endless pictures and videos of this "terrible" man. After a few minutes, the three guys were allowed to leave since the haraboji seemed placated and the ajosshi seemed genuinely contrite.

I followed them until a safe distance and then got the real story from the three guys (at least, it seemed legit to me). The ajosshi told me, "I used to be a policeman, and that haraboji was standing in front of the police yelling and trying to hit them.
I was upset because I used to be a policeman, so I went up and tried to separate the haraboji from the police by putting my arms between them. That's all! Suddenly, the protesters rushed up and claimed that I had 'beaten' that haraboji, but that's just not true." He concluded, "Those people are crazy! I even lost my glasses!" and then they quickly walked away.

So was he spinning the situation in his favor, had he really "hit" the haraboji? Well, the guy seemed pretty chilled out to me and had been very calm when he tried to call the police. And would a guilty person have even called the police in the first place?

Then on the other side, there are the protesters who hit the police themselves even as they are screaming, "Violent police!"
Hmmm... whom to believe? A difficult decision! All I know is that I saw four different protesters hit that ajosshi several times and he did not even raise a first once in retaliation. Didn't seem very "violent" to me, and he was quite a big guy, so I can only say that my gut tells me that he was telling the truth.

Of course, you can be sure that Agora and probably Hankyoreh will have lots of propaganda to milk about how some disgusting ajosshi had tried to "beat up" a helpless haraboji who was only trying to "fight the dictatorship" and "defend democracy," and who had been heroically defended by the righteous protesters. Hell, he'll probably get a medal of some sort. And, of course,
you can be sure that there will be no mention of the fact that four different people hit the ajosshi in the face and on the head and even broke his glasses.

4. As the ajosshi was on his knees apologizing to the haraboji, another ajosshi in a pink polo shirt came up to me and shouted angrily in perfect English as he wagged his index finger at me, "Do you want to be the next victim?!" Perhaps he had seen me yank away the earlier protester. I replied calmly in Korean, "Why don't you try demonstrating peacefully?" and of course he had
nothing to say to that. Another protester quickly stood between us and said, "I'm sorry!" to me, but actually I would have loved it if the ajosshi tried to attack me because then someone might actually believe me when I say what I have been saying all along: The protesters have started all the violence during these 80-odd demonstrations, and have been intentionally trying to provoke the police from the get-go. The police, in return, have been so restrained that it is really inexplicable at times. I actually asked several policemen tonight, "Aren't you angry that one of your buddies was knocked out unconscious?" and they said, "Of course we are!" So I asked them why they were being so soft on the protesters despite such abuse and they only said, "Our orders come from the top."

* I have sent four emails to Amnesty International detailing exactly the kinds of incidents that I have described here, since their recent report on "police abuse of human rights" during these demonstrations was clearly biased and was obviously manipulated by the protesters to their own advantage. Amnesty International, however, has ignored me so far, because apparently they are
unconcerned with the truth. Perhaps they have given it an amnesty for now?

If you are as offended by their unconscionable attitude as I am, feel free to copy the eye-witness report I have written here and send it to AI in triplicate:

http://www.amnesty.org/en/contact

These dead-enders have clearly gone off the deep-end, knocking police unconscious, attacking ordinary citizens and making violent threats to local residents like me simply because I do not agree with them.

When will this madness ever end?

http://www.kingbaeksu.com/board.htm

Of course also the S.K. reactionary newspapers have an "opinion" about last weekend's protest (^^):

☞ Protests turn into violence (JoongAng Ilbo, 7.28)

☞ Street Protests Descend Into Lawlessness (Chosun Ilbo, 7.28)

☞ Chronic Lack of Respect for the Law (Chosun Ilbo, 7.29)

☞ Hard-core ralliers hit a new low in protest violence (JoongAng..)

☞ Police impotence (..Ilbo, 7.29)

본문

First of all: the S.K. state since last Friday increased its pressure on the wanted anti-gov't/labour union activists, hiding in Jogye-sa (the main Buddhist temple in downtown Seoul) and in the KCTU HQ. Now there are almost 1000 riot cops hanging around at the two sites to get an opportunity to arrest the wanted activists.

☞ 민주노총 사수투쟁…경찰검거압박 (KCTU)

Riot cops are blocking Jogye-sa

KCTU HQ: Cops are searching for the wanted activists

In another development the S.K. ruling class/gov't increased its terror against labour(KCTU) activists: Last Friday and Saturday striking Allianz and KOSCOM workers were attacked by riot cops and/or criminal gangs, hired by the capitalists (aka the "employers").

☞ Allianz생명 용역폭력 '조합원들 중상' (KCTU)

7.25: Riot cops are attacking striking KSCOM workers

In this situation it was clear, that - the for Saturday night planned - anti-gov't rally/demo (the 80th!!) will be no picnic (especially after many of potential demonstraters were confronted already in the afternoon with blockades and attacks by thousands of riot cops)!

Well, finally in today's morning hours (surprise, surprise!) the situation in downtown Seoul - more than 1500 activists (the entire evening/night around 15,000 protesters took the streets, according to K. Herald) occupiyed since several hours Jong-no, the main avenue there - escalted (but in reality only a little bit!!!):

According to Korea Herald 42 protesters were arrested: 

Related reports:
☞ "미친교육 미친소 2MB 심판의 날" (VoP)
☞ 촛불은 쉽게 꺼지지 않았다.. (OhmyNews)
☞ 새벽 3시 20분 살수하면서 시위대 진압 (NewsCham)
☞ "시위진압의 ABC도 모르냐?" (Tong-il News)

본문

Arrest Warrants for KCTU Leaders  (K. Herald, 7.24)
 

Police (today) sought arrest warrants for three top officials of the nation's biggest labor group on charges of orchestrating illegal demonstrations and strikes against U.S. beef imports, and obstructing work last year at branches of a local retailer.

The officials are Lee Suk-haeng, president of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions, the nation's second-largest umbrella labor group; Senior Vice President Jin Young-ok; and Secretary-General Lee Yong-sik.

"We will combine all cases of lawsuits and complaints against KCTU members regarding the illegal protests in our investigation. Upon the issuance of the writs, we will set up an investigative team dedicated to the matter," a police official told reporters.

They are alleged to have directed KCTU members to go on strike, calling for the renegotiation of the U.S. beef import deal. They are also accused of instructing members illegally demonstrate in front of warehouses in Gyeonggi Province to block the transit of U.S. beef. The beef had been frozen since Oct. 5, when banned backbone fragments were found.

The allegations include that they led unauthorized gatherings against U.S. beef imports, and illegal occupations of public roads during the protests.

Police accuse them of leading or encouraging KCTU members to join the sit-in protests last year at stores of local retail giant E.Land's Homever and New Core stores, located in Sangam-dong and Jamwon-dong in Seoul.

Calling on management to retract a large-scale dismissal of temporary contract workers in July last year, unionized employees participated in illegal sit-ins for about a month.

The labor group roundly berated the government as "quashing democracy by misusing its law enforcement power."

"The Lee Myung-bak dictatorial regime which betrayed the people is trampling democracy by abusing its power after it lost the confidence of the public," the KCTU said in a statement.

"The action (seeking arrest warrants) is an unjust oppression on the rightful exercise of workers' rights to protect public health, and an absolutely political one. We will take it as oppression against our 800,000 members, and collectively and strongly react to it."

A lawmaker of the Democratic Labor Party also railed against the government, calling for the resignation of the National Police Agency Chief Eo Cheong-soo.

"Before seeking arrest warrants, it is more urgent for the government to sack the police chief who ignored the public and led the violent dispersal operations," said Rep. Hong Hee-deok in a statement.

7.24 afternoon: Units of the riot cops in front of KCTU's HQ in Seoul-Yeongdeungpo

7.24 late evening, near the KCTU HQ: Riot cops ready to arrest the KCTU leaders..

..but until now some hundred supporters are trying to protect them!

Meanwhile the Korea Times reported today that.. "Police plan to award those who contributed to quelling anti-U.S. beef protesters. A total of 385 police officers including riot police will receive awards, said the National Police Agency.." That's real JUSTICE & DEMOCRATIC PROGRESS (aka "liberal democracy", as K. Herald labeled it today in another article) - Made in Korea!!(^^)

Related reports:

☞ 경찰, 민주노총 침탈 움직임 '비상' (KCTU)

☞ 이석행 민주노총 위원장 등 체포영장 발부 (VoP)

☞ 이석행 "촛불 소녀가 왔다는 소식에 목메어" (OhmyNews)

Update (7.25):

KCTU Threatens to Go on Strike (K. Times)
 

Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) threatened to go on strike, Friday, demanding the government suspend the imports of U.S. beef and abandon its moves to "suppress the union.''

The threat came one day after a court issued an arrest warrant for the union's head and two other leaders. They are under suspicion of organizing illegal strikes calling for the end of U.S. beef imports.

Meanwhile, police said they were in no hurry to arrest them.

"We have no plan to go into the headquarters of the union and arrest them,'' a police officer said. "But if they come out, we will definitely arrest them.''

7.25 in front of KCTU HQ. Cops are searching for the union leaders..

BTW.. so there are now two sites in Seoul where anti-gov't activists have to hide because of arrest warrants: 6 activists are hiding Jogye-sa, Seoul's main Buddhist temple in downtown, and the 3 labour union leaders in KCTU's HQ.

 
Related:

☞ 조계사.민주노총 동시 강제연행 들어가나 (VoP)

☞ 민주노총 사수투쟁…경찰전진배치 (KCTU)

본문

Related article:

☞ 촛불, ‘공공성 지키기’로 본격 확대 (VoP, 7.21)

☞ 공공성 지키기 촛불주간, 촛불영화제 (참세상)