A-Infos (en) Arrests Follow South Korean May Day Clashes

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

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Arbitrary Arrests Of May Day Rally Participants

     Relating to the street demonstration after the KCTU's May
Day Rally, the government declared a hard stance and said that it
would arrest 98 people who had positively participated in the
demonstration. "The illegal and violent incidents on May Day
worsened social stability and had an ill effect on economic
recovery with lowering national creditability," said the general
prosecutor. "We will organize a special investigation team and
trace the participants to the end, and we will investigate the
participation of the leadership of the KCTU and Hanchongryon."
The police are also arresting photographed participants. They
have already arrested 3 of the 98 people: Song Ul-koo, executive
officer of the station bureau of the Seoul Subway Union, was
charged with a violation of the rally and demonstration law; Jang
Jin-bom, a student majoring national history at Seoul University,
was charged with special interference with governmental duties;
and Park Yong-jin, organizational staff member of People's
Victory 21, was arrested and charged with violence and violating
the rally and demonstration law. According to a Metal Workers'
Union statement published  by the KMWF, another 17 people,
including 6 workers, were already arrested on May Day. Park was
arrested because of a photo showing him with a steel pipe in his
hand, and this method is to be used in other arrest cases. The
police also sent a writ of summons to Lee Kab-yong, Dan Byong-ho,
president of the KMWF, and the leadership of NADRK. To these hard
responses by the prosecution and the police, the KCTU is replying
strongly, saying, "The police violently interrupted a legal and
peaceful demonstration, and now they are talking about a hard
response. The thief turns on the master with a club." Workers
think that while they prepare strong fight against layoff, the
government wants to take the initiative in the ideological
struggle before the second tripartite commission, and they are
demanding the immediate release of those arrested and the
punishment of the police officers who were responsible for the
violence.

(Source: PICIS Newsletter #17 - May 11, 1998)

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