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At Jongmyo Park, downtown Seoul, over 1,000 unionists gathered to demand the release of imprisoned trade unionists, the withdrawal all the warrants of arrest against union leaders, and the recognition of the Korean Government Employees Union.

The rally, followed by a march to the Myongdong Cathedral, some 4 kilometres away, was organised as a part of the International Day of Action for the Release of Imprisoned Trade Unionists in Korea. The International Day of Action was called by the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF) and the Public Services International (PSI) and endorsed by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). It marks the culmination of the nearly a month-long campaign by the Global Unions initiated by the ICFTU to raise awareness of the trade union repression in Korea. The campaign kicked off to a start on May 30 with the launching of the "Our Team Won't be at the World Cup" poster.

Members of the Korean Government Employees Union, the Kia Motors Workers Union, Hanaro Telecom Workers Union, and activists of all the KCTU-affiliated federations took part in the Korean rally. Some twenty members of the FKTU affiliated Federation of Korean Metalworkers Unions joined the rally.

Mothers of Prisoners of Conscience and Mock Prison Cells Lead the Rally

The rally was addressed by the members of the Council of Families for Democracy, an organisation of the family members of prisoners of conscience. More than ten mothers took the stage and spoke of the continuing arrest and imprisonment under the National Security Act. The arrest and imprisonment of unionists and the repression of the activities of workers are part and parcel of the habit of the government which is afraid of democracy, the family leaders said. One of the mothers from the Council told the story of her prison visit to meet with one of the women workers of the Signetics who was arrested few weeks ago. She told the gathered unionists, "It is the persistence of struggle by people like the Signetics unionists, and people like you who will not tolerate violation of basic rights who will advance the cause of democracy." The mothers joined the rally from their nearly 500th weekly rally for the release of prisoners of conscience.

KCTU prepared a mock prison cell for use in the rally and the march. Prior to the rally, there were fears that clash with police may erupt because the police objected to the mock prison cell as it causes public abhorrence. KCTU decided to ignore the police objection which was delivered to the organisers only few hours before the start of the rally. Despite the fears of police obstruction, the rally and the march went ahead with the mock prison cell. The symbolic act with the mock cell featured two activists cooped up in the small cell in prison garment. The mock cell was decorated with the ICFTU-inspired "Our Team" poster and the IMF-PSI common picket poster for the June 27 International Day of Action. The mock cell led the march.

The rally and the march was decorated with hundreds of the international common posters produced by the ICFTU and the IMF and the PSI.

KCTU Warns the Government of Stepped Up Action

Prior to the rally, the KCTU and the Korean Government Employees Union held a joint press conference to publicise the International Day of Action and to deliver their demands to the government. In the press conference, KCTU Emergency Executive Committee Chairperson Baek Soon-hwan presented a summary of the trade union repression by the Kim Dae Jung government. In four and a half years in office, the currently government has overseen the arrest and imprisonment of 778 trade unionists. This is nearly 150 more than 632 imprisoned in the whole of the five years of the previous government. In this year alone, 92 unionists were arrested and imprisoned. Currently 52 unionists are held in prison, including the KCTU president Dan Byung-ho. [The verdict of the appeals trial is scheduled for July 11 when the judge is expected rule on the prosecutor's demand for 5 year imprisonment sentence.]

Emergency Executive Committee Chairperson Baek Soon-hwan explained that imprisonment and repression are continuing even today. The government has issued warrants of arrest against 20 hospital workers union leaders, 22 leaders of the Doosan Heavy Industry Workers Union, and have already arrested 8 leaders of the taxi workers union in response to their strike in the course of the collective agreement and wage negotiation.

KCTU Chairperson called on the government to end the current repression of the trade union activities. He set a deadline of the first week of July for the government to respond. He announced the plan of the KCTU to step up the intensity of the campaign from the second week of July if the government fails to heed the KCTU's warning. He indicated that the KCTU will target the upcoming by-elections and the presidential election to press the government to change its labour policies and behaviour. Chairperson Baek called on the government to "make best of the broad unity of purpose and spirit garnered by the World Cup campaign to heal the wound and pains suffered by workers who have been the worst victims of the economic crisis. If the government turns its back on this last opportunity, then the trade union movement has no choice but to step up its action against the government."

Some of the Actions in Other Countries

Brussels: international trade union delegation called on the Korean embassy to register its protest and deliver its demand. Australian and Canadian union leaders who were attending the ICFTU steering committee meeting joined Belgian trade union leaders and ICFTU Human and Trade Union Rights department staff in the meeting with the Korean embassy representatives.

Geneva: a joint IMF-PSI delegation together with the representatives of the Swiss trade union called on the Korean Mission in Geneva to deliver a letter of protest.

Germany: the IG-Metall, a member of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB) and an affiliate of the IMF was a key organiser of a demonstration in front of the Korean embassy. They were joined by other unions and Koreans living and studying in Germany. The latter group produced special leaflets to distribute to the Korean community when it gathered to watch the Korean national football team play in the World Cup. Mrs Ursula Engelen-Kefer, the vice-president of the DGB addressed the demonstration.

Malaysia: some 100 unionists led by the Malaysian affiliates of the IMF held a demonstration in front of the Korean embassy. A delegation of the demonstrating unionists met with the Korean embassy representatives to deliver a letter of protest.

Japan: a delegation of the Japanese affiliates of the IMF, led by president Hisahige Tano, called on the Korean embassy to deliver a letter of protest. At the meeting, the Korean embassy representatives asserted that workers who are imprisoned were not imprisoned because of their trade union activities but because their activities violated existing laws, such as acts of violence. The delegation pointed out that the ILO and other international bodies, and the international trade union movement organisation have already made clear that the laws the Korean government are using against the unionists need to be abolished.

Pakistan: All Pakistan Trade Union Federation, in the context of the government prohibition against holding a protest rally in front of the Korean embassy, has organised "gate meetings" in front of a number of factories in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and other cities of Punjab. In these meetings, the APTUF highlighted the struggle of Korean workers and called for the release of imprisoned Korean trade unionists, including the KCTU president Dan Byung-ho.

India: At 12:45, 50 people, from Food Corporation of India Employees Union, All India Cantonment Board Employees Federation, Delhi Transport Corporation Employees Congress, All India National Life Insurance Employees Federation, including the Secretary of the PSI Co-ordinating Committee, PSI Southasia Subregional Secretary, and Asia Pacific Women Education Project Co-ordinator, held a demonstration in front of the Korean Embassy at Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. The unionists held out a big red banner reading, "Free Korean Trade Unionists" and many placards demanding "STOP HARASSMENT OF UNIONS", "RELEASE TRADE UNION LEADERS", "STOP THE SUPPRESSION". They gave out leaflets to citizens in the vicinity.

Netherlands: The Dutch Confederation of Trade Unions (FNV) wrote a special letter, on June 25, to Guus Hiddink, to draw his attention to the reality of trade union rights violation in Korea. In the letter, the FNV requested the "Korean Hero", the coach of the Korean national football team in the World Cup football competition, to use his special position to bring the situation to the public attention and to call upon President Kim Dae Jung to release all trade union members and to withdraw the warrants of arrest issued against many other unionists. The FNV noted, "the World Cup would be a good opportunity for the Korean government to show the world that they respect the internationally recognised trade union rights and that it will make an effort to live up to the international standards." FNV, in its letter co-written with the union of professional sports players, sent on the day the Korean national football team was scheduled to play Germany in a semi-final, wished coach Guus Hiddink and the Korean team success in the match against Germany.

Thailand: As a part of the International Day of Action, on June 17, participants of the Asia-Pacific Regional Network Meeting for the Electric Power Industry of the ICEM held a demonstration to condemn the Korean government for the dismissal of Korean electricity workers. More than 100 unionists marched to the Korean embassy in downtown Bangkok and presented a letter containing their demands for the "immediate and unconditional release" of union leaders imprisoned in Korea. Taking part in the demonstration were power union leaders from Thailand, Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, Nepal, Vietnam, Fiji, Australia, India, and Korea. The demonstration was led by ICEM-affiliated Thai EGAT power workers union and Bangkok Metropolitan Electricity Authority Union, Labour Confederation of Thailand, and other labour activists. A Korean embassy representative angered the labour leaders by claiming the jailed Korean unionists were "criminals".

Protest Letters Sent to President Kim Dae Jung

* l OZCELIK-IS IRON, STEEL, METALLIC PRODUCTS AND AUTO INDUSTRY WORKERS' UNION,
TURKEY
* BSRB, Confederation of State and Municipal Employees in Iceland,
* Lithuanian Metalworkers' Trade Union
* ABVAKABO FNV, public services union in the Netherlands
* Republican Union of health workers' trade organizations of Armenia
* SKTF - Swedish Union of local government officers, Avd 079, Kalmaravdelningen
* Rappresentanze Sindacali di Base - Pubblico Impiego - Bologna - Italia
* UGT-Portugal
* IUF Latin American Regional Secretariat
* FECOHT-CC.OO federacion estatal de comercio, hosteller y turismo de
comisiones obreras
* European Federation of Trade Unions in the Food, Agriculture and Tourism
sectors and allied branches
* Unionen Fagforening, avd. 747 Fellesforbundet, building and construction
union local, Norway
* SYNATRAMAC, a civil aviation workers union, Republic of Benin
* Public Services Labor Independent Confederation, Philippines
* Nepal Inter Corporation Employees Union
* Tamilnadu Electricity Board Accounts and Executive Staff Union, India
* International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
* Australian Services Union
* CCAS - La Centrale chretienne de l'Alimentation et des Services, Belgium
* HAVA-IS Turkish Civil Aviation Union
* KMU - May First Movement Labor Center, Philippines
* Food Corporation of India Employees Union
* All India Cantonment Board Employees Federation
* National Organization of government employees, India
* Akil Bhartiya Sinchai Karmachari Mahasangh, India
* Vidyut Karmachari Morcha Sanghathan, UP, India
* Tamilnadu Electricity Employees and Contract Workers Union, India
* Tamilnadu Government Officials union, India

Individuals

* Justin L. Hart, Wooster, Ohio, USA
* Einar Olafsson, Reykjavik, Iceland
* Nick Holden
* Kate Ahrens
* Andreas Nubel, a GEW member, Berlin, Germany
* Alastair Fraser
* Svenja Schmidt, Germany
* Dr Andrew Cumbers, Glasgow, Scotland
* Maak Flatten, Germany
* Torbjorn Dybsand of Norway