Construction Union Holds 2-Day Sit-in in Downtown Seoul: "Stop Union Suppression"

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) National Construction Workers' Union held a large-scale rally in downtown Seoul, urging an end to union suppression.

On the afternoon of the 16th, participants are shouting slogans at the general strike rally calling for an end to the suppression of the Construction Workers' Union held on Sejong-daero, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 16th at 2 p.m., the Construction Workers' Union held a general strike resolution rally on Sejong-daero in Seoul to commemorate union official Yang Hoedong, who died by self-immolation on the 1st, and called for an end to union suppression, punishment of those responsible for coercive investigations, and the resignation of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.

The rally was held while controlling five lanes from Sungnyemun Five-way Intersection to Sejong-daero Intersection. Approximately 25,000 people participated.

Yang Kyung-soo, chairman of the KCTU, said, "We must bring down the Yoon Seok-yeol administration to protect the Construction Workers' Union that martyr Yang Hoedong wished for." Jang Ok-gi, chairman of the Construction Workers' Union, referred to Yang's will, emphasizing, "Let us create a world where construction workers are respected, where the Construction Workers' Union stands tall as the master of the field, and the world that martyr Yang Hoedong longed for."

The participants of the resolution rally plan to continue the rally overnight in the city center. On the 17th, the KCTU, including the Construction Workers' Union, will hold a resolution rally in front of Sungnyemun and march to Samgakji Station.

Meanwhile, at Seoul National University Hospital, where Yang's funeral was held, about 30 people including former MBC president Kim Joong-bae, Shin Hak-cheol, chairman of the Baek Gi-wan Foundation, and Son Ho-chul, honorary professor at Sogang University, held a press conference claiming, "The government is responsible for Yang's death." The statement was signed by over 170 elders from various fields.

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