'250 Days of War with Construction Violence'... 4,829 Construction Violence Workers Disguised as Union Members Referred to Prosecution

The police, who declared war on violent acts at construction sites, known as ‘Geonpok,’ have arrested 4,829 people and sent them to the prosecution, among whom 148 were detained.

The National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency announced on the 22nd that these results were achieved through the ‘Special Crackdown on Organized Illegal Activities such as Extortion and Violence at Construction Sites,’ which has been in effect since December last year. This special crackdown focused on △forcing the hiring of affiliated union members and the use of equipment △extortion of money under various names such as full-time fees, welfare fees, and development funds △obstruction of work such as hindering attendance and blocking access to construction equipment △violent acts such as assault, threats, and damage at construction sites △illegal mass protests and demonstrations at construction sites.

Looking at the types of illegal activities, extortion of money under various names such as full-time fees and welfare fees was the most common with 3,416 people, accounting for 70.7% of the total, followed by obstruction of work such as hindering attendance and blocking access to construction equipment with 701 people (14.5%), and forcing the hiring of affiliated union members and the use of equipment with 573 people (11.9%).

Among the 148 detained suspects, extortion of money under various names such as full-time fees and welfare fees accounted for 124 people (83.8%), forcing the hiring of affiliated union members and the use of equipment 20 people (13.5%), obstruction of work 3 people (2.0%), and violent acts 1 person (0.7%).

By affiliated organizations, the two major labor unions accounted for 2,890 people (59.8%), other unions and organizations 1,829 people (37.9%), and individuals 110 people (2.3%).

The police explained that through this special crackdown, they confirmed a series of cyclical structures that proceed as follows: ‘forcing hiring and equipment use → obstruction of construction work if the company refuses → extortion and coercion of money in exchange for stopping the obstruction → extortion of financial benefits.’

In addition to direct violent acts such as threats and assaults, they uncovered various illegal activities, including cases where actual organized crime groups formed unions or criminal organizations solely for extortion purposes, fake disabled unions without disabled members, and ghost environmental organizations, revealing that these malignant practices have become entrenched.

In fact, from March 2021 to February this year, construction union members with backgrounds in organized crime were arrested by the police for holding long-term rallies at 14 construction sites in Gyeonggi and Incheon and extorting about 170 million won under the pretext of safety standard violation reports as full-time and welfare fees. Among them, the police detained seven union members, including Mr. A, in his 50s, the head of a construction union’s Gyeongin regional headquarters, and sent them to prosecution with detention, while three others were sent without detention. This was the first time the ‘crime organization formation charge’ was applied in an investigation of illegal acts at construction sites.

There was also a case where a fake disabled union without disabled union members was established, and threats were made using the mandatory employment regulations for disabled workers at construction sites, saying, “If union members are not hired, we will mobilize a wheelchair brigade of disabled people to paralyze the site.” The Dongdaemun Police Station in Seoul arrested six people, including the regional head of the disabled union, and detained one of them.

The police plan to continue to strongly crack down on organized illegal activities such as extortion and violence at construction sites by establishing a permanent crackdown system equivalent to this special crackdown to prevent illegal activities from taking root at construction sites.

In addition, they will strengthen cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Construction Site Illegal Activity Response Center and internally improve the reporting channels for violent acts at construction sites within the National Police Agency to ensure that victims can safely report illegal activities.

Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, said, “Through this special crackdown, we have corrected employment relations at construction sites and created an opportunity to establish the rule of law and fairness.” He added, “We will continue to firmly and strictly investigate illegal acts that take unfair advantage by exerting undue pressure based on the status of unions or organizations, and we will uphold laws and principles so that fairness, common sense, and justice can take root at construction sites.”

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