by REERA YOO | @reeraboo
editor@charactermedia.com
Thousands of South Korean unionized workers marched in cities nationwide on Friday to protest against President Park Geun-hye’s labor policies, reports the Associated Press.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KTFU), one of the nation’s largest umbrella unions, orchestrated the rallies, despite the government’s deeming them to be illegal. According to the KTFU, about 260,000 unionized workers–including 60,000 government employees and 10,000 teachers–walked out of 2,829 workplaces across the country on April 24.
However, South Korea’s labor ministry estimated the number of protesters to be 34,000, which is about 0.19 percent of the country’s working population.
Labor unions have criticized President Park administration’s plans to reform the pension system for government employees and to introduce a more flexible labor market. During the rallies, unionized workers also protested against the poor working conditions for irregular workers and the economic dominance of family-owned conglomerates, also known as chaebols.
As of Friday afternoon, there have been no reports of major violence from the strikes, but Seoul police expect major clashes to occur in rallies near Yeouido Park, Cheonggye Stream, Seoul Station, City Hall Plaza and Gwanghwamun later this weekend. According to the Korea Times, about 10,000 protesters are expected to gather at the City Hall Plaza on Saturday and 15,000 to fill Seoul Square on Sunday.
The union strikes come almost a week after thousands rallied at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Plaza last Saturday, denouncing the government’s poor handling of the Sewol ferry disaster. Riot police used pepper spray and water cannons to break up the crowd and detained dozens of protesters for questioning.
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Featured image via Yonhap
