Construction Site Extortion and Threats to Seize Hundreds of Millions... Probation for Korean Federation of Construction Trade Union Officials

Union officials under the Korean Federation of Trade Unions (KFTU) were sentenced to prison for threatening to disrupt construction work at construction sites in the Seoul metropolitan area and extorting money worth hundreds of millions of won.

Seoul Central District Court, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

On the 26th, Judge Chae Hee-in of the Criminal Division 9 at the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Seo Mo (58), chairman of the KFTU National Construction Solidarity Labor Union, who was detained and prosecuted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes (joint extortion), to three years in prison with a five-year probation.

Union official Lee Mo (44) was sentenced to two years in prison with a three-year probation, and nine other officials who were prosecuted together also received prison sentences with probation.

They are accused of extorting 130 million won under the pretext of salaries for workers exempted from working hours by threatening to disrupt construction by holding rallies or filing complaints at 22 construction sites in the metropolitan area from February 2021 to October 2022.

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