hankyoreh

Union members occupy a street in central Seoul on June 17 where they chant slogans during a memorial rally held for Yang Hoe-dong, a unionist who died by self-immolation on May 1. (Yoon Yeon-jeong/The Hankyoreh)

A public funeral rally organized by labor and social organizations for the late Yang Hoe-dong, who died after self-immolating last month, began on Saturday, 47 days after the union leader’s death.

Wishing for his peaceful rest, Yang’s union criticized the Yoon Suk-yeol administration for causing Yang’s tragic passing, arguing that it’s ignoring the unlawful acts at construction sites in favor of “bashing” unions as “gangsters.”

“The Yoon administration is a ‘juridical gangster’ that uses the law as a means of tyranny,” the union added.

At 5 pm on Saturday, a coalition calling itself “Collective Action by Labor, Civil Society, Religious, and Cultural Groups for the Struggle of Martyr Yang Hoe-dong,” composed of 302 groups from all across the nation as well as the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, held a public memorial rally for Yang in front of the Seoul Finance Center building in the Jung District of Seoul.

While criticizing the Yoon administration for “turning a blind eye on deep-rooted unlawful acts running rampant in the construction industry while bashing innocent unions and laborers,” the group prayed for Yang’s eternal rest. The organizers revealed that approximately 2,000 people gathered at the memorial based on registration records.

At the rally, participants held signs reading “Inherit the spirit of martyr Yang Hoe-dong! Stop the oppression of construction unions” and “President Yoon Suk-yeol should resign immediately” and chanted, “This is the wish of the fallen. Let’s change the world. Let’s live in a world where we can be respected,” and other slogans.

A memorial altar holds a portrait of Yang Hoe-dong, a unionist who died by self-immolation on May 1, at a memorial rally held in central Seoul on June 17. (Yoon Yeon-jeong/The Hankyoreh)

The Korean Construction Workers’ Union (KCWU), to which Yang belonged, argued that the Yoon administration “stigmatized unions as vested interests and outlawed them, leading to the death of Yang Hoe-dong.”

“The Yoon administration is engaging in regression and runaway behavior that ignores the structural reality of construction workers,” they said.

The district leader of the third Gangwon branch of the KFTU, Yang Hoe-dong self-immolated on May 1 (International Workers Day) outside the Chuncheon District Court’s Gangneung branch building in Gangwon Province, ahead of pre-arrest questioning. He died the next day.

At the rally on Saturday, Jang Ok-ki, chairman of KCTU-affiliated KCWU, said, “We, hand in hand with our fellow laborers and members of civil society, will build a world where workers are masters of the world,” adding, “We will proceed with the second general strike after wrapping up the funeral of the late Yang Hoe-dong.”

Lee Yong-woo, chairperson of the labor committee of Minbyun - Lawyers for a Democratic Society, said in his speech, “The suppression of workers at this time shows that we are regressing to the era of anti-union laws of England 200 years ago. We will call those adhering to these laws ‘law tyrants’ as that rule of law shows that they will use the law as a tool of tyranny.”

“The labor sector and civil society will concentrate its efforts to make sure that Articles 2 and 3 of the Labor Act are revised,” Lee added.

Kim Mi-suk, whose son Kim Yong-gyun died in an industrial accident and who now serves as president of a foundation erected in her son’s name, spoke at the event as well.

“Through legitimate union activities, laborers have been able to change the rampant lawlessness at construction sites. The Yoon administration calls these comrades who have striven to improve the working environments and make things safer ‘gangsters,’ but he’s the real gangster here,” she said. “This was state violence so egregious that a man self-immolated because his pride could not abide it.”

Participants in a memorial rally for Yang Hoe-dong, a unionist who died by self-immolation on May 1, march to Seoul National University Hospital on June 17 following the rally. (Yoon Yeon-jeong/The Hankyoreh)

Jio, the co-chair of the South Korean Coalition for Anti-Discrimination Legislation, took the stage on Saturday as well.

“It is a beautiful thing for a worker to take pride in their labor. May the late Yang Hoe-dong, who would not capitulate because of the pride he took in his labor, rest in peace,” they said.

“This government is all too happy to trample on such beautiful pride. This is because it fears laborers who are proud. We must stand up to discrimination and insult, stand up ferociously, and carry out our struggle.”

The memorial rally lasted around an hour and a half, consisting of a memorial performance, remarks from Yang’s family, and a screening of a video made of the note Yang left before his death. Starting at around 6:40, participants began marching toward Seoul National University Hospital, where Yang’s wake was held on Saturday.

The funeral will be observed for five days, through Wednesday.

By Yoon Yeon-jeong, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]