hankyoreh

June 29. (Photo by Ryu Woo-jong)

By Park Hyun-jung　

Ardent supporters of Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) Direction Committee member Kim Jin-suk, who is currently carrying out an aerial sit-in protest on the No. 85 crane at the Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction’s (HHIC) Yeongdo shipyard and other fired workers are heading for Yeongdo in Busan.

On June 29, the planning team for the “Bus of Hope,” which is preparing a second trip to Busan following one on June 10, held a press conference at its office in Jung-gu, Seoul, saying, “HHIC’s labor-management agreement, the result of the forced signing of a ‘document of surrender’ through coercion by the company and the government, is completely invalid. We plan for 185 Buses of Hope to set off from around the country on July 9. In circumstances where HHIC’s fired workers have not been reinstated and Kim Jin-sook has not come down from the crane, there is no choice but to keep the Buses of Hope running. We will be sure to go down to Busan and make sure that not a single laid-off worker remains fired.”

Around 10 workers fired from Ssangyong Motor have also set out on a long “journey in search of salt flowers.” Salt flowers refer to the white stains left on clothes by the sweat on workers’ backs, as described by Kim Jin-sook in a book that she wrote.

On June 30, Human Books, which published Kim’s work “Salt Flower Tree” in 2007, is issuing 5,000 special limited edition copies of the book in support of Kim. Each copy will sell for 5,700 won, a big reduction on the normal 10,000 won price, given that the purpose of the special edition is to support Kim rather than to make sales profits.

On the afternoon of June 29, around 700 members of Federation of Korean Metal Workers Trade Unions and activists from civic and social organizations in Busan held a rally on the square in front of Busan Station, before moving on rally until late at night near crane No. 85. HHIC’s management, which had been blocking food supplies from reaching Kim, began allowing her food again on June 28 when an official from the National Human Rights Commission arrived to conduct an on-site investigation following a request from Kim for emergency relief measures.

On June 29, at a hearing for HHIC situation at the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee that fell apart due to the absence of HHIC Chairman Cho Nam-ho, Lawmaker Chung Dong-young strongly demanded to HHIC President Lee Jae-yong that workers on the top of Crane No. 85 be accorded at least minimal humanitarian treatment, including the provision of electricity.

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