Song Seok-jun: "Democratic Party Provokes Labor-Management Conflict and Obstructs Negotiations at Hite Jinro Strike Site"

"Both Labor and Management Exhausted After 108 Days of Strike"
Some Democratic Party Lawmakers Accused of Disrupting Negotiations on Site

Song Seok-jun, member of the People Power Party./Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Hyunju Lee and Hyunji Kwon] On the 26th, the People Power Party criticized some members of the Democratic Party of Korea who visited the Hite Jinro strike site to encourage union members.

Song Seok-jun, a member of the People Power Party, issued a statement as a representative on the day, saying, "It is said that some Democratic Party members are inciting labor-management conflicts and obstructing negotiations," and pointed out, "It is shocking beyond words."

Song said, "Both labor and management are mentally and physically exhausted due to the long strike that has lasted 108 days," adding, "The economic losses are considerable, with shipment disruptions at the Icheon and Cheongju soju factories amounting to 30 billion won."

He then condemned the Democratic Party members for visiting the strike site, saying, "If members of the National Assembly and political parties, who represent the people, threaten and intimidate by adopting witnesses for the audit instead of mediating, whom are the people supposed to trust?"

The Hite Jinro factory is also Song's constituency. He lamented, "As a party who has been anxious and made strenuous efforts to mediate repeatedly over the past three months so that labor and management could return to normal, I feel utterly disheartened."

Song urged, "If conflicts are provoked to ruin the economy, the people will never forgive it," and strongly requested, "The Democratic Party must stop its regression that plunges people's livelihoods into distress and undergo a complete transformation toward politics of coexistence and harmony, dialogue, and compromise."

Lawmakers Kim Seon-gyo, Noh Yong-ho, Park Dae-sik, Choi Seung-jae, and Choi Soon-sik also signed this statement.