Human Rights Commission "Welcomes Agreement on Kim Jin-suk's Honorary Reinstatement... Clearing Dark Past"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea welcomed the agreement for reinstatement with honor of dismissed worker Kim Jin-suk, a guiding committee member of the Busan Headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU).

On the 24th, the Human Rights Commission issued a statement in the name of Chairman Song Doo-hwan, saying, "The life of dismissed worker Kim Jin-suk runs parallel to the history of the labor movement and democratization struggle in our country," and "His reinstatement is not merely a restoration of personal honor but a restoration of human dignity and a reckoning with the dark past of state violence committed during the military dictatorship era." The statement continued, "For workers, dismissal is not simply the pain of losing a job but threatens the dignity and universal human rights of the individual worker, their family, and members of society to the extent that it is expressed as 'dismissal is murder.' Kim’s reinstatement has been a long-standing social task and mission regarding respect for labor that has yet to be resolved."

Kim joined Hanjin Heavy Industries in 1981 and suffered hardships in 1986 when he was taken to the National Security Planning Agency’s interrogation room due to his union activities. In the same year, he was disciplinarily dismissed for unauthorized absence in protest against forced departmental transfer. Claiming unfair dismissal, he has continued legal battles, mediation requests to related agencies, and reinstatement struggles for the past 37 years. Previously, on February 2 of last year, when Kim was on his 43rd day of a hunger strike demanding reinstatement, then-Chairwoman Choi Young-ae visited the protest site in front of the Blue House fountain and issued a statement urging reinstatement. Kim’s honorary reinstatement and retirement ceremony will be held on the morning of the 25th at HJ Heavy Industries’ Busan Yeongdo Shipyard.

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