2 Weeks Left Until Yang Kyung-soo, Chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Arrest Warrant Deadline... When Will the Police Act?

Yang Kyung-soo, chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), who was issued an arrest warrant on charges of leading large-scale rallies in violation of quarantine guidelines in downtown Seoul, is holding a press conference at the KCTU office in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 18th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] It has been over two weeks since the court issued an arrest warrant for Yang Kyung-soo, chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). With about two weeks left before the warrant expires, attention is focused on the timing of its execution.

According to the police on the 30th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's July 3 Illegal Protest Investigation Headquarters is reviewing the timing to execute the arrest warrant for Chairman Yang, who led a rally in downtown Seoul last month attended by about 8,000 union members. The arrest warrant is valid for one month. The warrant issued on the 13th for Chairman Yang has just over two weeks remaining. If the warrant is not executed within this period, it must be returned to the court. A police official stated, "There is still time left on the arrest warrant," and added, "We are reviewing the prompt execution in accordance with law and principles."

There are criticisms that the police are being passive in executing the warrant. Five days after the arrest warrant was issued on the 18th, the police confronted KCTU lawyers in front of the KCTU building where a press conference was held, showing the arrest warrant and requesting cooperation. After about 10 minutes of standoff, when Chairman Yang’s side refused to cooperate with the warrant’s execution, the police decided to withdraw.

From the police perspective, executing the warrant against Chairman Yang is burdensome in many ways. Entering the KCTU office, where Chairman Yang is presumed to be staying, raises concerns about physical clashes. In 2013, to arrest Kim Myung-hwan, former chairman of the Railway Workers’ Union (and former KCTU chairman), who led a strike against railway privatization, police forcibly entered the KCTU building in Jung-gu, Seoul. Dozens of union members and police officers were injured. Subsequently, the Constitutional Court ruled that the police’s entry without a search warrant was illegal. Due to this, it is expected that executing the arrest warrant without a search warrant and cooperation from the KCTU side will be difficult.

A KCTU official stated, "If the government has no intention to resolve labor issues, our position remains that we will refuse all future summons procedures." The KCTU is focusing on preparations for struggles in the second half of the year. At the 73rd Extraordinary Delegates’ Meeting held online on the 23rd, the KCTU unanimously passed a resolution to hold a general strike on October 20, involving 1.1 million union members nationwide. Yang Kyung-soo, chairman of the KCTU, said, "A series of ‘KCTU killing’ programs have recently been activated," and added, "They are suppressing the KCTU as a shield to cover up their own failure in quarantine measures."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.