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December 4, 1999

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KCTU Leads the Movement Against the WTO New Round

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and its core allies in the people's movement, especially the Korean Farmers Federation, has, together with more than 30 other major citizens organisations and activists groups, launched a new coalition to build up a campaign against the new round of trade liberalisation negotiations at the WTO.

The "Korean People's Action Against Investment Treaties and the WTO New Round" also focuses on the efforts of the governments of Korea, Japan, and the U.S. to adopt bilateral investment treaties, which would incorporate all of -- and also go beyond -- the failed Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI).

The discussions on the framework and direction of campaign developed over last few months before the official launching of the coalition in September this year. The initial efforts began in December 1998 when a number of organisations came together to discuss the silent efforts of the Korean government to negotiate a bilateral agreement on investment with the U.S. This was followed by a KCTU workshop in February 1999 tackling the issue of bilateral agreements on investment with the U.S. and Japan.

The initial efforts led to a series of for a on the various impact of MAI-clone, MAI-upgraded bilateral investment agreements. In the process, the debate began to incorporate the issues of new round of trade liberalisation negotiations scheduled to be launched in Seattle at the WTO ministerial meeting.

The concern for these issues came from many directions: farmers have been in the forefront of the struggle against indiscriminate liberalisation of agriculture since their campaign against the Uruguay Round in early 1990s. This struggle, which developed into a society-wide movement, challenged the simple-mindedness -- the foolishness -- of the government which believed it was possible -- and that it was desirable ? to abandon agriculture to win or defend the opportunities for more exports of Korean industrial products.

The initial campaign established the principle of a balanced growth strategy, sustainable development, and the capacity and mutual recognition and encouragement of the right of people -- a society -- to pursue alternative path and shape of development, not dictated by some nebulous trend or force, but determined by the domestic political and social aspirations through democratic process.

The campaign established a strong mark on the consciousness of the people of the inherently undemocratic nature of the trends of ideologies of 'globalisation', 'liberalisation', 'free market', and 'competitiveness'.

Another source of strength in the people's campaign came from cultural workers and artists. The colossal power of Hollywood industry -- one of the major source of American global dominance -- was seen to destroy the fragile Korean film industry. The readiness of the Korean government to scrap "screen quota" -- which obligates film theatres to set aside certain amount of screening time for Korean films -- to appease the American pressure galvanised the film industry people. Film directors and actors -- some of the most famous artists in Korea -- took the most extreme forms of action, such as shaving their hair.

The trade union movement, farmers, and artists, found allies, also, among environmentalists and women's movement, intellectuals and professionals --- such university academics, lawyers, medical physicians -- in their campaign, for reasons which are shared by their counterparts all over the world.

The urgency to build a countervailing force against neoliberal sweep was accentuated by the concentrated experience of the IMF-WB inspired structural adjustment programme, massive and rapid wave of privatisation and massive, indiscriminate, and not-well-thought-out sell-out Korean enterprises -- public and private -- to foreign concerns.

The "crisis-gripped" mentality of the Korean government -- led by the Wall Street trained "economists" taken on board by the new president Kim Dae Jung -- opened the doors wide -- rather pulled down all the walls -- to the "spirit" of neo-liberalism. The Korean government has not bothered to develop a public debate or win consensus: the crisis itself was seen as the ultimate mandate. Anything the government does to "overcome the crisis" was seen as acceptable, legitimate.

Anyone who opposed it, challenged it, criticised it, or belched out in pain, were portrayed as "unpatriotic", "selfish", or "misguided". The struggle of the KCTU over the last two years was just aimed at challenging this ungrounded -- or crisis-inspired -- foolhardiness of the government. This earned the trade union movement the sorry fate of having more than 700 workers being prosecuted while some 400 of them were actually arrested and imprisoned.

The movement against neo-liberal globalisation (of which the WTO new round of trade negotiations, the failed MAI now set to be resurrected through bilateral investment agreements, and the IMF-WB resurgence are the new stage of consolidation) in Korea is spurred on, also, by the rise of people's struggles in other parts of the world, not only in developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, but also in the advanced industrialise countries in Europe and the U.S. itself.

The world-wide resurgence of people's action, where 'responsible' alternative or alleviative policy proposals are being overtaken by more direct means of action -- as witnessed by the recent Seattle action -- is a sign of the saturation of frustration, which challenges the established movements to respond effectively, in a manner more sensitive to the anguishes and hopes of the people.

The new resurgence is also marked by radical new features -- the global dimension. Peoples actions in different far-flung corners of the world are no longer disparate and isolated. They add to a global movement through the new spirit of international solidarity spurred on by the new medium of communication, which has also become new means of organisation, which recognise the integrity of all struggle, debunking the attitude of established movements and organisations.

The formation of the Korean People's Action Against Investment Treaties and the WTO New Round (KoPA), bringing together the trade union movement, farmers movement, environment/ecology movement, women's movement, and all and diverse sectors of the society, is manifestation of the new effort in Korea, in continuation of the three decades of struggle of the people inspired by the aspiration for democracy, progress, equality, and liberation.

KoPA organised a number of discussion fora, film festival showing the various struggles taking place in other countries, and public rallies. It aims to examine the diverse impact of the new global trend on all aspects of people's lives and workings of a society. The degradation of public service and health care, the erosion of the value of public good, and the destructive impact on land, the commercialisation of all human endeavours, and relations, and the monopolisation of human knowledge for pure profit motivation are some of the issues.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions has vowed to build on the spirit that gripped Seattle in Korea by holding the second National People's Rally on December 10 together with all the people's movement organisations.

The 6-person delegation from KoPA who took part in the Seattle March will speak at a rally on December 6 signaling the start of the KCTU leadership sit-in in front of the National Assembly calling for reform legislation.

Below is the full translation of the KoPA statement at the press conference announcing the departure of its delegation to Seattle on November 20, 1999. [Initial draft translation was provided by an activist group, Policy and Information Center for International Solidarity.]

We Aspire for a World where Democracy,
Human Rights, Environment
and Cultural Diversity are Respected!

- a statement on the attempt to launch a new round of negotiations by the WTO -

Since the Uruguay Round in 1994, and especially since the IMF crisis of late 1997, we have been exposed to the enormous wave of liberalization and the open market. These policies have been imposed on us as the sole alternative, in the past, for economic development, and now, as the only way to overcome the current economic crisis.

However, we recall vividly the brute reality that the conclusion of the Uruguay Round in 1994 and the subsequent establishment of the WTO regime have contributed to the globalisation of poverty, the destruction of employment, the devastation of the eco-system, and the decimation of cultural diversity.

The acceleration of liberalisation under the IMF regime has deepened the inequality of income between the rich and the poor despite all the glee over improved economic indicators. The meager waning of public services are being phased out and countless workers deprived of work are being driven out into the streets.

The WTO, founded on free market ideology, is accelerating further liberalization and market opening up, without any consideration for democracy, human rights, environment, and cultural diversity. If this trend is not stopped, all achievements of democracy and social progress, achieved by the struggle of humankind over centuries, will be reduced to nothing. The Korean people's achievements of democracy, human rights, and national sovereignty, gained through the struggle against the military dictatorships, chaebols and imperialist forces, will also vaporise into insignificance.

The Korean government and the governments of wealthy North are preparing to launch a new round of trade liberalisation negotiation at the Seattle WTO meeting (November 30 to December 3) to open up and liberalise even more. The transnational corporations and governments which dominate the WTO refuse to recognize the devastating impact of indiscriminate liberalisation and wanton market-opening.

On the contrary, they are intent on incorporating even more aspects of society, economy, and public domain under the destructive whims of market liberalisation. Now important government policy instruments, such as, government procurement, various economic policy capability, including competition policy are under attack.

The Korean government, turning its back on and a blind eye to the ruins in the agriculture and rural society in the aftermath of the Uruguay Round, not only support the launching of the new round, but has emerged as an active proponent, as a pretext to extend the momentum of the IMF-inspired structural adjustment programme to all aspects of the Korean society.

Following the crisis and the entrenchment of the IMF-regime, the stock exchange has turned into an arena for speculation by foreign investors; the small outreach schools in distant reaches are shut down on the excuse that there not enough students; and public health centers which service low-income community are being phased out in the name of structural adjustment.

The Korean government has sought to remove the "screen quota" system, which is the minimum regulatory mechanism to uphold cultural autonomy and integrity, to appease the Americans in the process of negotiations on the bilateral investment agreement with the U.S.

We reject the argument, logic, and ideology of the government and business magnates that liberalisation and market-opening is the only option, the sole recourse for the salvation of the Korean society and economy.

We declare that the endeavour to build a society in which the values and principle and aspiration for democracy, human rights, environment, and cultural diversity should be our -- all people's -- shared guiding principle.

The conclusion of a new round of liberalisation measures under the auspices of the WTO will drive our lives and our future further into catastrophic danger.

We declare that a new round of negotiations for even more liberalisation should not be started. We join with -- call the governments to heed -- the world-wide outcry, "Moratorium to the WTO new round", the common call of more than 1,300 civic and social movement organisations and trade unions from more than 80 countries. Some of these concerns are shared by the governments of many of the developing nations from the Third World, who have bitterly complained about the inequality in the existing WTO agreements.

We put forward, therefore, our demands to the governments whose representatives are gathering in Seattle.

Undertake a thorough and comprehensive investigation and evaluation of the impact of 'liberalisation' pursued by the WTO had on democracy, human rights, ecology, culture, women, health, and sustainable development.
Investigate and evaluate whether the WTO agreement and practices are in compliance with the International Human Rights Declaration, the Agreement on Biological Diversity, the ILO Conventions, and other international covenants, and the various democratic rights guaranteed by national constitutions.
These investigation and evaluation process must be undertaken appropriate fully mandated body based on the guarantee of the full participation of all people ? workers, farmers, urban poor, women, cultural workers, artists, students, etc. ? who have been affected by the process of 'liberalisation'.
The new round of negotiations and all other negotiations aimed at expanding 'free trade' must be suspended until the investigation and evaluation process are undertaken.