cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/574435

“The raid comes as the conservative right-wing government of President Yoon Suk-yeol is targeting leaders of progressive groups and labor movements in the country using unsubstantiated allegations of links to, and espionage for, North Korea.”

“Four people were the prime targets of the raid. These include a senior KCTU leader, one official each from its affiliates, the Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union and the Korean Metal Workers’ Union, and a union organizer and anti-war activist from Jeju Island.”

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On Wednesday, January 18, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the largest workers’ organizations in South Korea, was raided by the intelligence and the police as the government escalated its persecution of trade unions and progressive groups in the country. Multiple raids were conducted at the offices of the KCTU and its affiliates by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) along with the National Police Agency.

As per reports, the NIS procured a search and seizure warrant from the court against the KCTU based on alleged charges of violating the controversial National Security Act of 1948. NIS officials reportedly stated that the search came after years of “internal investigations into … alleged links to North Korea,” but refused to divulge any further information.

Four people were the prime targets of the raid. These include a senior KCTU leader, one official each from its affiliates, the Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union and the Korean Metal Workers’ Union, and a union organizer and anti-war activist from Jeju Island.

Apart from the trade union’s headquarters in Seoul, raids were carried out at multiple locations including at the homes of the accused union leaders. At its Seoul headquarters, KCTU officials confronted the investigators, demanding that the search be conducted in the presence of a lawyer, but the NIS and the police investigators reportedly pushed their way into the office.

The confrontation lasted more than three hours before the search could proceed. The KCTU live-streamed the confrontation and parts of the raids on YouTube showing investigators forcing their way into the office. KCTU officials also stated that IDs were taken along with photographs of the people present at the headquarters without their permission.

In a press conference held in the afternoon, shortly after the raid started, Han Sang-jin, a spokesperson of the KCTU, stated that the raid appeared to be an attempt to forcibly link the ongoing persecution of trade unionists to an alleged North-Korean “spy ring.”

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(Full article)

Note: This article is from January.

August, last year: Thousands of South Korean unionists and their progressive supporters rallied in downtown Seoul to protest against joint US-South Korea war games planned for later this month. […] A YouTube video of the Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), which contains the activities of the Unification Vanguard, is also controversial. The 2-minute and 58-second video released by the Federation of Trade Unions includes a song called [Anti-U.S. Anti-War Song] by a folk song group called ‘[Our Country]’ as the background music. […] The Unification Committee also held a camp called ‘Unification School’ and lectured on ‘The History of America’s World Aggression’ and ‘The Confrontational History of the DPRK-U.S.’. At a rally on the 13th, the KCTU read a solidarity message sent by the Korean Workers’ Union, a North Korean workers’ organization.

Related: Activity video of the 23rd KCTU Central Unification Vanguard