hankyoreh

March 4.

Police and prosecution’s investigations of labor-management disputes have generated criticism from labor that argues that the authorities are treating laborers as criminals.

The Korean Metal Workers Union (KMWU) Cor-Tek branch issued a statement on Tuesday, saying, “Prosecutors suddenly indicted 19 union members who participated in last year’s factory occupation and sit-in demonstration.” The union added, “Prosecutors are conducting an unreasonable investigation because two leaders of that occupation have already been punished by the court.”

Cor-Tek, the international guitars and basses maker headquartered in Germany, caused labor strife last year when it decided to close its Korean factory located in Dungchon neighborhood of Seoul and move it to China. On November 25, 2008, 23 union members of Cor-Tek occupied the Korean factory and held a sit-in strike, however, within four hours, they were round up by the police. Two leaders of the union were sentenced to one-year imprisonment, which was then suspended.

Prosecutors recently indicted the other 19 union members on charges of housebreaking with weapons. The crime of housebreaking with weapons carries a minimum prison sentence of one year.

Sung Sei-kyung, the chief of education and public relations department and a senior official of the KMWU, says, “The union members thought the case was over, and we feel the indictments are preposterous.” Lawyer Park Jae-eun who is working on behalf of the union says, “The indictments seem excessive because the prosecutor usually hands out summary indictments for these kinds of cases.”

However, labor says that there have been many similar cases recently. The prosecution arrested two leaders of KMWU’s Donghee AUTO Co. in-house subcontracting branch on April 21, four months after they participated in a demonstration held last December. Donghee AUTO Co. supplies parts for Morning compact cars as a subcontractor of Kia Motors.

The leader of KMWU’s Donghee AUTO Co. in-house subcontracting branch says, “Three union leaders have already been sentenced by the court in connection with last December’s demonstration in front of the factory.” He added, “However, police suddenly came to the union office in April and arrested the other two leaders. It seemed that police were able to obtain an arrest warrant for a different reason, after they failed to get the warrant for the demonstration in front of factory.”

Another senior official of KMWU, Park Jeom-kyu says, “Police used to recognize special facets of the labor-management dispute, however, now a days, they treat laborers as criminals.”

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