40,000 KCTU Members Hold Rally in Downtown Seoul... "Yoon Administration is 'Prosecutor's Violence'"

Traffic Congestion Due to Restrictions on Sejong-daero and Hangang-daero

A large-scale rally condemning the government's labor policies was held in downtown Seoul around Gwanghwamun, led by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). The criticism mainly focused on the government's hardline stance toward labor unions.

In particular, the term 'Geonpok' used by President Yoon Seok-yeol to refer to violent acts at construction sites by unions came under scrutiny. Jang Ok-gi, chairman of the KCTU Construction Union, stated, "The construction union is being slandered and oppressed as 'Geonpok' for the benefit of construction capital," adding, "The Yoon administration is the real 'Geompok'?prosecutorial violence that privately uses state power and turns the entire country into a prosecutorial dictatorship."

Democratic Labor Union members held a rally on the afternoon of the 28th at Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul, condemning the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Yang Kyung-soo, chairman of the KCTU, regarded the government's hardline attitude toward the construction union as oppression against the entire KCTU. In his speech, he said, "The reason the construction union is being oppressed is because it is at the forefront of the KCTU," and added, "Oppression against the construction union is oppression against the KCTU, so we will fight alongside construction workers." He continued, "The KCTU is an organization that has grown amid oppression and broken through with struggle," and stated, "If there is full-scale oppression, we will immediately enter a general strike at any time."

At the rally, an estimated 40,000 KCTU union members gathered from across the country, according to police estimates (the organizers estimated 43,000). Around 1:30 p.m., separate preliminary assemblies were held by sector unions in front of the Government Seoul Office, the National Police Agency, and Jonggak Station. After concluding the rally around 4:10 p.m., participants marched through Seoul Station and Namyeong Station to the War Memorial of Korea near the presidential office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

The police deployed 100 riot squads (6,000 officers) to respond. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency warned the day before, "We will strictly respond to illegal acts that block traffic, including on-site arrests," but major roads in downtown Seoul experienced traffic congestion throughout the afternoon due to the protest. According to the Seoul Transportation Information System (TOPIS), as of 4 p.m. that day, the average speed in downtown Seoul was 8.8 km/h, and roads such as Sejong-daero, Euljiro, and Namdaemun-ro dropped to speeds below 10 km/h.