Police Conduct Search and Seizure at 14 Locations Including Two Major Labor Unions... Comprehensive Pressure on Labor Sector (Comprehensive Report 2)

Illegal Recruitment Coercion Detected Targeting Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and Federation of Korean Trade Unions

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The police have launched an all-out pressure campaign against labor unions, including conducting raids on the offices of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), to investigate illegal activities at construction sites.

On the 19th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Violent Crime Investigation Unit announced that from around 8:10 a.m., they were conducting raids on five KCTU offices and three FKTU offices. The targets of the raids included the KCTU Seoul-Gyeonggi Northern Branch and the Southwest, Northwest, Southeast, and Northeast regional offices, as well as the FKTU Seoul-Gyeonggi 1st and 2nd branches and the Rebar Business Unit Seoul-Gyeonggi branch, all located in the metropolitan area.

Subsequently, the police also conducted additional raids on six other offices: the Korean Federation Seoul Headquarters, the Democratic Federation Metropolitan Headquarters, the Construction Solidarity Western Gyeongin Headquarters, the Industrial Workers' Union Western Gyeongin Headquarters, the National Federation Field Headquarters, and the National Construction Union Federation Central Headquarters.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The police reportedly initiated the investigation based on the belief that the KCTU and FKTU were involved in illegal activities at construction sites. It is alleged that illegal acts such as coercing the hiring of specific individuals or accepting bribes in exchange for promised employment occurred within the two major labor unions.

The day before, the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) announced that a full investigation had confirmed a total of 270 cases of illegal activities at construction sites. Additionally, Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, stated in his New Year's address on December 30 last year, "Collective illegal activities at construction sites remain a serious problem," and added, "We will no longer tolerate illegal sites stained with illegality and disorder."

The KCTU was also subjected to raids by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the police the previous day on charges of violating the National Security Act. During the raid on the KCTU office in Jung-gu, Seoul, a physical altercation occurred between KCTU members and the police, causing the raid to be delayed for about three hours. On the 16th, the NIS obtained a search warrant from the court related to charges of violating the National Security Act against A, a director-level official at the KCTU headquarters.

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