Open
World Conference of Workers
In Defense of Trade Union Independence & Democratic Rights
Korea
Introductory letter from Daniel Gluckstein
(coordinator, ILC; and member of the Continuations Committee of the Open World
Conference) urging support for the campaign to free the jailed Korean trade union leaders and activists
Letter From Korean Confederation of Trade Unions
(KCTU) Calling For Worldwide Protests on January 22, 2002, Against the Continued Jailing of Trade Unionists and Trade Union Leaders In Korea
Sample Protest Letter to the President of Korea
Report from International Delegation
On December 10-14, 2001, a delegation from the International Liaison Committee
for a Workers' International (ILC) traveled to South Korea
1) Introductory Letter from Daniel Gluckstein
Paris, France -- January 18, 2002
Letter to All Trade Unionists and
Activists: Join Us in Demanding the Immediate Release of the Jailed Korean Trade Union Leaders and
Activists!
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
The International Liaison Committee for a
Workers' International (ILC), one of the coalitions building the Berlin Conference Against Deregulation and For Labor Rights For All
(February 21-24, 2002), has just received an appeal from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions
(KCTU) calling for the immediate release of KCTU President Dan Byung-ho, KCTU-KMWF President Mun Sung-hyun and all the workers in Korea who have been imprisoned for their trade union activity
and/or for participating in strike actions. [See KCTU Appeal below.]
We in the ILC and the OWC Continuations Committee urge you to respond positively to the KCTU appeal for an International Day of Action on January 22, 2002. We ask that you send a Protest Letter to the Korean
government, with copies to the KCTU and the Open World Conference Continuations
Committee. [See Sample Protest Letter Below.]
Where possible, we urge protest actions and union delegations to the Korean embassies and
consulates. Obviously, given the short notice for this Day of Action, whatever actions or letter-writing efforts undertaken on January 22 must be seen as just the first step in a much broader and sustained campaign to win the freedom of these courageous trade union activists and
leaders.
Dan Byung-Ho was freed in August 1999 in the framework of a general presidential
amnesty. He had been imprisoned for his trade union activity. At the time he was freed under the general
amnesty, he had two months and four days left to serve under his initial
sentence.
Dan Byung-Ho was arrested and sent back to prison on August 2, 2001, for his role in leading the KCTU campaigns during the month of
June. Five days before he was to be re-released, the government brought totally new and bogus charges against him to kept him behind
bars.
The KCTU leadership, in letters sent to trade unionists the world
over, notes that their federation has been hit hard by government repression. In 2001
alone, 205 union members were detained and jailed. The reason, says the KCTU, is that
"the KCTU has fought hard so that its members do not lose their jobs, do not see their wages
diminished, and do not lose their dignity."
The KCTU has set a target deadline of February 12, 2002, for the release of these imprisoned trade
unionists. Let us all carry out over the next three weeks an ever-growing campaign on behalf of these embattled
unionists. We appeal in particular to all the unionists and activists who are building the Berlin Conference to participate actively in this urgent
initiative.
We wish to inform you that for our part, we have organized in France a high-level trade union and political delegation to the Korean Embassy in France to demand the immediate release of the Korean
unionists.
We thank you in advance for your support to this effort,
In
Solidarity,
Daniel Gluckstein,
National Secretary, French Workers
Party,
Coordinator, International Liaison Committee for a Workers' International
Member, Continuations
Committee, Open World Conference
********************
2)
Letter From Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU)
Calling For Worldwide Protests on January 22, 2002
Against the Continued Jailing of Trade Unionists
and Trade Union Leaders In Korea
Dear
Friends:
Tell the Korean Government: Release KCTU President Dan Byung-ho, KCTU-KMWF President Mun Sung-hyun and All Imprisoned Workers in
Korea!
The KCTU Calls for An International Day of Action on January 22, 2002.
The
KCTU, in conjunction with the its metal workers affiliate (KMWF), the International Metalworkers Federation
(IMF), and the Southern Initiative on Globalisation and Trade Union Rights (SIGTUR), makes this appeal for an international day of action for the release of imprisoned trade unionists in
Korea.
We call on all friends to take action so that trade unionists in jail in Korea can be with their family and fellow workers in the new
year. February 12 is new year's day by the Lunar Calendar. In Korea, it is a day when families gather together to reflect on the past
year, give thanks to ancestors, and celebrate. Our hope is that all the imprisoned
workers, including KCTU President Dan Byung-ho and KCTU-KMWF President Mun
Sung-hyun, are released, to join their loved ones.
Suggested actions on January 22, 2002:
- Protest demonstrations in front of the Korean Embassies
(or consulates)
- Delivery of protest letter to the Embassies (or
consulates)
- Union meetings to speak about the situation of imprisonment and repression of workers in Korea
- Reach out to other organizations to other trade
unions, human rights groups, etc.
- Associate with the KCTU initiative to table a complaint on violation of freedom of association with the International Labour
Organisation.
- Let us know of your plans for action so that they receive due public attention in
Korea. In order to help various activities, the KCTU and the KMWF have produced a video documenting the repression meted out to workers by the Korean
government.
***
The full appeal is posted at the KCTU website:
http://kctu.org/news/iain22action.htni.
We will soon post the video that we have
produced, a documentary of repression of workers in Korea.
In solidaritv,
Yoon Youngmo
International
Secretary, KCTU
********************
3) SAMPLE PROTEST LETTER
TO KOREAN PRESIDENT
Mr. Kim Dae-Jung
President of the Republic of Korea
1 Sejong-no
Jongno-ku
Seoul 110-820
Republic of Korea
Tel. 011-822-770-0018
e-mail:
president@cwd.go.kr
Fax: 011-822-770-0347
Dear Mr. Kim
Dae-Jung:
We are writing this letter to urge you to secure the immediate release from prison of Dan
Byung-Ho, president of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), Mun Sung--hyun, president of the KCTU-KMFW (Metal
Workers' Federation), and all the trade unionists who have been jailed for their trade union
activity.
As supporters of labor rights and democratic rights, we find it unacceptable that the Korean authorities have jailed trade unionists in Korea for participating in strike actions and for engaging in trade union
activity. Their continued detention is not only a violation of basic trade union
rights, it is a violation of their most basic democratic rights.
We will not stand by as these rights are
violated!
Sincerely,
(sign your name here, and if possible include your organization and union and
title. Make sure to include your email address and the city from which you are sending this
message)
Please send a copy to the KCTU to:
Fax: 011-822-2635-1134
e-mail
inter@kctu.org
with an additional copy to the OWC
at
ilcinfo@earthlink.net
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