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A unionist participating in a funeral march for Yang Hoe-dong, who self-immolated on May Day, covers their face with their hands as the rally carries Yang’s remains on June 21. (Shin So-young/The Hankyoreh)

“You can’t imagine how difficult it was facing a high-handed investigation on false accusations of a non-existent crime. You can’t fathom how frightening, terrifying, and painful the experience was leading up to that choice.”

A funeral ceremony was held Wednesday afternoon for Yang Hoe-dong, a construction unionist who set himself on fire to protest the suppression of organized labor under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

In a trembling voice, Yang’s older brother Hoe-seon spoke on behalf of the family, and the sounds of weeping could be heard among the mourners.

“Won Hee-ryong, the minister of land, infrastructure and transport, said there were ‘suspicious elements’ surrounding my brother’s death,” Yang said. “Hearing that was as heart-rending for the family as the moment we learned about my brother’s death.”

“Is this a case where you’re only a ‘citizen’ if you listen to the administration, and if you have a different opinion, even your death is ignored?” he asked, before calling on the listeners to “join together in eliminating the obstacles that threaten workers’ legitimate rights.”

The event Thursday was organized as a workers’ and citizens’ funeral in front of the Donghwa Duty Free building in central Seoul’s Jongno District. According to the organizers, an estimated 6,000 people attended to bid farewell to Yang Hoe-dong, including members of his family, fellow workers, and figures from all walks of life.

It came 50 days after Yang ended his life by self-immolation on May Day, leaving behind a note calling for people “to create a world where workers are the masters.”

Under a gray sky with an intermittent drizzle, the roads were thronged with fellow workers who wore black headbands reading “Carry on the martyr’s spirit” and chanted phrases such as “Stop labor suppression now!” and “Restore the martyr’s dignity and apologize to his family!” The workers also teared up when a video was shown with a mourning message from Yang’s family.

“He was someone who believed that labor unions had the power to change the harsh conditions in our construction environments,” said Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) chief Yang Kyeung-soo, who chaired the funeral committee.

“The employment of union members, which was a source of happiness and pride to him, has been disparaged trampled through extortion and intimidation tactics by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration,” he added, stressing that the “way to avenge the injustice suffered by our comrade Yang Hoe-dong is by bringing an end to the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.”

After Yang Hoe-dong’s coffin was borne out of the funeral hall of Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul, those participating in the funeral march arrive at the Korean National Police Agency headquarters in Seoul’s Seodaemun District on June 21. (Shin So-young/The Hankyoreh)

The administration and ruling People Power Party (PPP) have shown no change recently in their attitude of treating labor unions as enemies. For this reason, observers are predicting labor/administration relations will sour even more in the near future.

In a parliamentary negotiation group representative’s speech at the National Assembly’s main session on Tuesday, PPP leader Kim Gi-hyeon argued, “Since the arrival of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, ‘construction site abuses’ have come to an end.”

“Construction working environments are breathing again, and construction sites are back in action,” he said.

After previously adopting an institutional attack strategy with tactics such as making union accounting practices public, the administration has shifted toward a hard-line suppression stance against assemblies and demonstrations since a two-day assembly held by the Korean Construction Workers’ Union (KCWU) last month. Police have summoned KCWU chief Jang Ok-ki and others on charges of violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act.

Under these circumstances, the bloodshed that occurred when police subdued Federation of Korean Metal Workers’ Union Secretary-General Kim Jun-yeong was a foregone conclusion.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Employment and Labor recommended to Yoon that Kim be stripped of his status as a worker representative on the Minimum Wage Commission. The last remaining window for tripartite dialogue between labor, management, and the government closed when the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) declared an end to dialogue through the Economic, Social & Labor Council framework.

Now the KCTU and FKTU are focusing their energies on a battle to bring down the administration.

Lee Byoung-hoon, a professor of sociology at Chung-Ang University, said, “At present, we’re not seeing any kind of move by the administration to work with labor. If anything, there’s a possibility of additional administration pressure on unions now that the unions have announced plans for a general strike in July.”

“We’re likely to see even more extreme confrontations than the current ones,” he predicted.

After the labor festival and funeral ceremony on Wednesday, Yang Hoe-dong was laid to rest around 4 pm at a cemetery for martyrs for democracy at Maseok Moran Park in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province.

By Shim Wu-sam, staff reporter; Kim Ga-yoon, staff reporter; Kim Hae-jeong, staff reporter

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