Appearance of MBC Radio with Supreme Council Member Yechan Jang: "My Pledge is to Dissolve the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions" | Sangsik Shin: "Unions Cannot Be Legally Dissolved"
As the Blue House and the People Power Party are intensifying their efforts to 'crack down on labor unions,' Jang Ye-chan, the youth supreme council member of the People Power Party, engaged in a heated debate over his remarks about 'dissolving labor unions' on a radio program.
On the 14th, Jang appeared on MBC's "Shin Jang-sik's News High Kick" and said, "If you don't understand political terminology, wouldn't it be difficult to host a current affairs program?" which led to a verbal exchange with the host, lawyer Shin Jang-sik.
Jang Ye-chan, the newly appointed Youth Supreme Committee member of the People Power Party, is delivering an acceptance speech at the 3rd Party Convention of the People Power Party held on the 8th at KINTEX in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
When Yong Hye-in, the co-representative of the Basic Income Party and a panelist, stated that "cracking down on labor unions is showmanship," Jang responded, "It is not showmanship. One of my pledges is to dissolve the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). Not just once, but throughout the remaining four years, I will actively crack down on labor unions." At this, host Shin said, "Cracking down is fine, but legally, labor unions cannot be dissolved," which sparked the debate.
Jang replied, "There can be administrative measures equivalent to dissolution," to which Shin countered, "Go ahead and try. Try it." Jang then retorted, "If they catch spies, I think the entire KCTU leadership will be disbanded."
Shin responded, "If the KCTU leadership has spy charges, they should be arrested. But I am saying that labor unions cannot be legally dissolved." When Jang implied that Shin did not understand the political term 'dissolution of labor unions,' Shin snapped back, "Use political terms accurately," raising his voice.
Jang said, "Our supporters and the public fully understand. The spy activities currently shown by the KCTU and its leadership are unconstitutional acts," while Shin continued, "There is a qualitative difference between punishing union leaders for illegal acts and dissolving the union itself. Use the terms precisely," continuing the argument.
Raising his voice, Shin said, "It is not appropriate for me to raise my voice with a panelist like this," but he again pointed out that Jang did not use the terms accurately. Jang responded, "If you are going to question whether my political terms can be legally or politically interpreted, then you should be the panelist," pushing back.
When Shin said, "Then say it is a political interpretation," Jang replied, "Please sit over there (at the panel seat). Sit there," refusing to back down. Eventually, Shin concluded, "Then let's use the terms accurately between us."
Although Yong was the panelist on the radio program that day, it was the host and Jang Ye-chan, who was not a panelist, who ended up raising their voices during the discussion. Host Shin Jang-sik is a former TBS broadcaster, who left TBS in December last year after criticism of bias from People Power Party lawmakers and has been hosting a radio show on MBC since January this year.
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