Police Arrest Two Cargo Solidarity Union Leaders for Occupying Passage at HiteJinro Gangwon Plant; Warrants Denied for Two Others

On the 4th, the Cargo Solidarity of the Public Transport Union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, who have been protesting for three days at the entrance of Hite Jinro Gangwon Plant in Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon Province, clashed with the police.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Two executive union members of the Cargo Solidarity, a branch of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), who occupied the logistics vehicle passage at the entrance of HiteJinro Gangwon Plant, were detained on the 8th.

Jin Won-du, the chief judge in charge of warrants at Chuncheon District Court, issued detention warrants on the same day for Cargo Solidarity executives A and B, who were charged with obstruction of business and other offenses.

Judge Jin stated, "There is substantial reason to suspect that a crime has been committed, and there is a risk of flight."

However, Judge Jin dismissed the detention warrants for two other executives, C and D, who were also charged, saying, "Considering the collected evidence, it is difficult to see a risk of evidence destruction or flight, and since there is room for dispute regarding the involvement and degree of participation, it is difficult to recognize the necessity and appropriateness of detention at this stage."

A and three others are accused of occupying Hitegyo Bridge, the only access road leading to HiteJinro Gangwon Plant, on the 5th, blocking the shipment of alcoholic beverage products.

At that time, the police issued a dispersal order to 12 union members who blocked logistics vehicle movement on the bridge, but when they did not comply, they were arrested on the spot as fugitives, and detention warrants were requested for these four executives.

Members of the Cargo Solidarity have been blocking the access road to HiteJinro Gangwon Plant and staging a sit-in since the afternoon of the 2nd, mobilizing about 20 trucks, demanding a "30% increase in freight rates" and "payment for holiday work transportation fees."