A-Infos (en) May Day In Korea

[Arm The Spirit <ats@locust.etext.org>]

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May Day In Korea

108th May Day Rally: 30,000 Participated, Determined To Fight
Against Layoffs

     On May 1st, the KCTU [Korea Confederation of Trade Unions]
held a May Day rally with 30,000 unionists and students at
Chongmyo Park, demanding the immediate abolition of the layoff
bill and workers dispatch system of the government. It also said
it would launch all-out struggle from late May to early June,
including a general strike. At 3:20 p.m., when participants
finished the rally and started on a peaceful march to Myongdong
Cathedral, the policemen stopped them by firing teargas, and the
workers and students fought against them with stones and steel
pipes till late evening. More than 30 workers and students were
injured during the clash and were taken to nearby hospitals, and
4 workers were arrested by the police. Finally, 1,000 people
gathered at Myongdong and finished their march. The KCTU leader
Lee Kap-yong said in a press interview held at 7 o'clock that
day: "The march to Myongdong Cathedral was reported to police in
advance and thus was legal...The Kim Dae-jung government must
punish the police head who suppressed the march with illegal and
brutal violence and apologize to the KCTU and the Korean people."

Declaration Of All-Out Struggle From Late May To Early June

     "Five months after the IMF bailout, the lives of workers and
the people are on the edge due to massive layoffs and the sudden
rise of prices," the KCTU said in the May Day rally. "To solve
this situation, we will direct talks with the government, and if
it rejects this, we will launch an all-out struggle, including
May 16 nationwide rallies, May 23 rallies for all-out struggle in
every sector, and a general strike from late May to early June."
In a speech at the rally, Lee Kap-yong said, "'Prepared
President' Kim Dae-jung should make it clear which one he
chooses, the 'chaebol' or the people. If he chooses 'chaebol' at
any cost, we workers will open up our way for life with strong
struggle not excluding general strike," he added. He also quoted
the labor minister's interview with a daily paper, which says,
"There is no more pie for the KCTU, and we will construct a
second three-party commission with the FKTU mid May." The KCTU
said further, "If the government continues to reject talks with
us, we will also front it with all-out struggle." The
participants in the rally demanded the following in their
resolution:

* Abolition of the layoff bill and workers dispatch system.
* Stoppage of layoffs and maintenance of current level of
employment through shortening of working time. 
* Arrest of employers who take unfair labor actions.
* Stoppage of unilateral restructuring in the public sectors.
* Induction of an employment tax and insurance of 20 trillion won
unemployment fund. 
* Stoppage of unilateral bad reform on national pension bill, and
reform of the social security system. 
* IMF renegotiation.
* Payment of full salary system for taxi drivers and changing
Kia into a public company.

Citizens' Favorable Response To The KCTU's Struggle

     On May 1, when the first "violent" demonstration occurred
since the new government, the responses from citizens on the
streets was very favorable, reflecting recent "economic
difficulties" after IMF bailout. A citizen asked a the policeman
who had fired teargas just before, "Why do you waste our taxes
like that in this IMF era?" Other people helped out students from
being arrested by police. Moreover, in Toegyero, where the "final
clash" occurred when policemen swung their clubs on workers, a
lot of people around there protested against them. One citizen we
met in Toegyero said, "Now I don't feel the slogans like 'job
security' and 'plan for the unemployed' are other people's
business. The police's violent repression makes the citizens
hostile. My expectations for the Kim Dae-jung government are
collapsing day by day." Another citizen said, "Unless an
efficient plan for unemployment problem and economic revival is
made by the government, the 'organized' workers like the KCTU
will gather people's sympathy."
 
Grand Prosecution Office Orders Arrest Of Those Who Led The
Struggle

     On May 4, the GPO held a special press conference and said,
"The last May Day rally worsened social stability and badly
affected economic recovery with a great decrease in national 
creditability. We will track down the violent demonstrators and
punish them. We will also investigate the KCTU and Hanchongryon
(the largest students' organization) to the bottom. The
prosecution will build a special investigation team and arrest
those who threw stones and swung steel pipes, and investigate the
KCTU, KMWF, and Hanchongryon in order to find participation of
radical student leaders for student-labor solidarity. We will
also trace underground groups which distributed subversive
leaflets to the end." Meanwhile, there is increasing movement to
block the workers' struggle after Kim Dae-jung's statement, which
said, "The violent demonstration, which disturbed foreign
investors, will be severely punished."

(Source: PICIS Newsletter #16 - May 4, 1998)

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