Police Arrest 1,484 for Illegal Activities at Construction Sites... Crackdown Extended Until August

Investigation of 3,884 People Underway... Enforcement Extended Until August 14

The National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters announced on the 25th that it conducted a special crackdown on illegal activities at construction sites for 200 days starting from December 8 last year, arresting 1,484 individuals and referring them to the prosecution.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

By type of illegal activity, the most common case was extortion of money under various pretexts such as advance payments or monthly fees, accounting for 979 people (66.0%). This was followed by coercion of hiring union members and equipment use with 206 people (13.9%), and obstruction of work such as blocking access to construction sites and refusal to work with 199 people (13.4%).

A total of 132 suspects were handed over to the prosecution in custody. Among them, extortion accounted for 112 people (84.8%), followed by coercion of hiring and equipment use with 16 people (12.1%), obstruction of work with 3 people, and one case of violent acts.

In this crackdown, in addition to existing labor unions such as the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (Minjunochong) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (Hanguk Nochong), numerous illegal activities by violent groups, pseudo-media organizations, and ghost environmental groups were uncovered.

Among the 1,484 individuals, 933 were union members affiliated with Minjunochong and Hanguk Nochong, while the remaining 551, accounting for 30%, were members of violent groups or pseudo-media organizations.

The police applied the crime of organizing a criminal group for the first time in a case involving gang involvement. The Violent Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency applied the crime of organizing a criminal group to a union head who is suspected of organizing a criminal group under the name of a labor union and extorting 170 million won from 14 construction sites across the metropolitan area.

The police decided to extend the special crackdown for 50 days until August 14 to eradicate illegal activities at construction sites. Currently, the police are investigating 3,884 people related to violent acts at construction sites.

Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, said, "I ask for the self-purification efforts and participation of those working in the construction sector so that a culture of law-abiding behavior is established at construction sites."