Yang Kyung-soo, Chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Appears for Police Investigation: "An Attempt to Silence the People"

Yang Kyung-soo, chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), appeared at the police station for questioning related to the 'First General Rally for the Resignation of the Yoon Seok-yeol Administration' and criticized the police response during the assembly.

On November 22, Yang Kyung-soo, Chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), who was summoned by the police for investigation into illegal activities during the KCTU protest on November 7, held a press conference in front of the Metropolitan Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency before appearing there. Photo by Heo Young-han

On the morning of the 22nd, Yang appeared at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Public Crime Investigation Unit in Mapo-gu, Seoul, for questioning and stated, "Considering the unprecedented police repression and the series of events following the assembly, this was thoroughly planned as an attempt to silence the people."

He pointed out, "We reported the assembly in advance and proceeded with it according to the rights guaranteed by law," adding, "It was the police who blocked the march, and it was also the police who infiltrated the assembly line to provoke violence and conflict."

Finally, Chairman Yang said, "The power of the square demanding the resignation of the Yoon administration will grow stronger," and "We will continue to fight without yielding to repression."

The Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is conducting a preliminary investigation on suspicion that the KCTU planned the illegal assembly in advance, and seven members of the KCTU executive, including Chairman Yang, are under investigation for violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act.

On the 9th, the police arrested 11 participants on the spot for obstructing official duties and other charges during the KCTU's 'First General Rally for the Resignation of the Yoon Seok-yeol Administration' held on Sejong-daero in front of Sungnyemun, Jung-gu, Seoul. According to the KCTU, 10 of them are union members, and one is a citizen.

The police requested arrest warrants for four of the KCTU union members on charges of obstructing official duties and violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act, but the court dismissed the warrants, stating that "it is difficult to recognize the necessity of detention."