IMF appeals for Dan's release
The IMF and its affiliates are calling on the South Korean president to grant a special amnesty to the jailed leader of the KCTU.
REP. OF KOREA: The International Metalworkers' Federation has appealed to the South Korean president, Kim Dae-jung, and his government to grant a special amnesty on August 15 - Korea's Independence Day - to Dan Byung-ho, the president of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.
Dan is in prison on account of his trade union activities and on July 11 was sentenced to a one-and-a-half-year jail term. There have been strong international trade union campaigns not only on his behalf but also for the release of all imprisoned trade unionists in Korea.
In his letter to Kim Dae-jung, the IMF's general secretary, Marcello Malentacchi, says that Dan Byung-ho is in prison "for trade union activities which in all democratic countries are considered perfectly legal, and which form the basis of the International Labour Organisation's core conventions." Malentacchi strongly urged the South Korean president to "do everything in your power to bring about the release of Dan Byung-ho through the Special Amnesty on the Republic of Korea's Independence Day, on August 15, 2002. We would also appeal for the release, on this same occasion, of all South Korean trade unionists who have been jailed for their trade union activities."
Malentacchi is also asking IMF-affiliated organisations to write to President Kim as well. The IMF general secretary says that "if we all step up the campaign with a request for a special amnesty for Dan on August 15, there is a chance for a positive result."
It is an established custom for the Korean government or president to grant a mass amnesty on the August 15 Independence Day.
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