South Korea: Hands Off the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions!

The Partisan Defense Committee in the United States joins the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) in condemning the November 9 riot police attack and provocations against the KCTU rally commemorating Jeon Tae-Il and against the Yoon Suk-Yeol government. Up to 100,000 KCTU members marched through downtown Seoul, while not far away about 30,000 members of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) also rallied against the Yoon government.

The attack by riot police on the KCTU rally, reminiscent of the period of the military dictatorship, targeted the construction workers contingent when they sought to join the main gathering. More than 100 were injured, several of whom were hospitalized, and 11 arrested, 10 of them union members. Outrageously, the police dragged a worker being treated in an emergency room out and took him to a police station. The massive KCTU march was also confronted by a right-wing countermobilization, waving U.S. and South Korean flags, demanding “smash the KCTU.” Now the state has threatened to prosecute the KCTU leadership for being responsible for supposedly planning illegal activity.

The Yoon government closely collaborates with U.S. imperialism, which both seek to increase the exploitation of workers in South Korea. The police attack on the KCTU this weekend, just like the police raid on the KCTU headquarters in January 2023 under the draconian National Security Act, is aimed at crushing workers who are fighting for their own interests. We urge every working-class organization to join in protest against this attack, in particular the FKTU. An attack on the KCTU is an attack on every worker! Every left and workers organization must stand as one against the attack by the South Korean state. We demand: Immediately release all arrested! Drop all charges! Defend the KCTU against state repression!