"Our Union Members Must Be Hired"... Daegu Police Arrest 10 for Extorting 500 Million Won, Total 224 Referred to Prosecution

Kim Soo-young, Daegu Police Chief, "Strict Investigation"

The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 23rd that as a result of a special crackdown on "organized illegal activities such as extortion and violence at construction sites" conducted over 250 days since December last year, 224 individuals were caught and sent to the prosecution, with 10 of them being detained.

Looking at the types of individuals sent to the prosecution, 182 people (81%) were charged with obstructing work such as interfering with access to construction sites and refusing to work, and 37 people (17%) were charged with extorting money under various pretexts such as union fees and welfare fees.

Daegu Police Agency

Among the suspects detained by the police, 8 were for extortion and 2 for obstruction of work. Regarding the affiliations of those caught committing illegal acts at construction sites, 126 people (56%) belonged to the two major labor unions, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), while 98 people (44%) belonged to other unions or organizations. Based on the source of the reports, 223 were from intelligence tips and 1 from a complaint.

The police arrested 140 people, including the head of the A Construction Union, on charges of forcibly holding rallies under the guise of legality, demanding "hire our union members," and extorting 350 million won, detaining 8 of them.

The police also arrested 65 people, including the chairman of the B Construction Union, on charges of extorting 44.2 million won by threatening to report safety facility deficiencies to related agencies, detaining 1 person. Subsequently, the police arrested and detained the branch chief of the C Construction Union on charges of extorting 130 million won by threatening to disrupt construction work through rallies and other means while demanding the employment of union members from 11 construction companies.

The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency plans to establish a permanent crackdown system to ensure that illegal activities cannot take root at construction sites and will conduct strong investigations regardless of the period.

Kim Su-young, head of the Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency, stated, "We will firmly and strictly investigate illegal activities that take unfair advantage of the status of unions or organizations to exert undue pressure for personal gain, and we will uphold laws and principles to ensure fairness, common sense, and justice take root at construction sites."

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