Seoul Police Crack Down on 66 Illegal Acts by Construction Union Members... 2 Arrested

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has arrested 66 individuals and detained 2 in connection with illegal activities by labor unions at construction sites.

A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official stated at a press briefing on the 19th, "We are investigating two cases, including the Jungbu Police Station incident." Earlier, the Jungbu Police Station apprehended 11 people, including the chairman of the construction labor union, who extorted about 200 million won from 11 companies under the pretext of union fees. Among them, two have been detained and are under investigation.

Previously, Police Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun declared "Eradication of Organized Illegal Activities at Construction Sites" as the third strategic task. Accordingly, the police are conducting a special crackdown on organized illegal activities at construction sites until June 25 next year. A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official said, "We are continuously gathering intelligence and carrying out operations," adding, "Under the overall supervision of each police chief, a rapid response team has been formed to strictly respond mainly through on-site arrests."

The crackdown targets include ▲ collective displays of power through obstruction of work and violent acts ▲ extortion of money through organized violence and threats ▲ forced hiring or use of construction machinery by specific groups ▲ illegal assemblies and demonstrations ▲ retaliatory acts against whistleblowers. The police have established a principle of detention and investigation for extortion, forced hiring, and unauthorized occupation of construction sites. A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official said, "We will proceed with detention investigations for repeated illegal activities as well."

Regarding the incident of disclosing the real names of victims of the Itaewon tragedy, the official explained, "We have conducted an investigation of the complainant and are collecting related materials," adding, "We are also tracking the leak route." When asked about identifying the leaker, the official said, "We are continuing to track and need to confirm this." Previously, online media outlets 'Mindeulle' and 'Citizen Media The Tamza' published the real names of 155 victims of the Itaewon tragedy on their websites on the 14th of last month.

The police are also conducting searches and investigations of the accused in the stalking complaint case involving Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon. Additionally, regarding the 'Kim Geon-hee photo lighting suspicion,' investigations of several complainants have been completed, and related materials are being analyzed.

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