By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

A leader of a regional cargo union wanted by police for organizing illegal rallies was found dead in an apparent suicide.

The Gwangju region leader of the Korea Cargo Transport Workers' Union, 37-year-old Park Jong-tae, was found hanging from a tree in a field near logistics company Korea Express in Daejeon, at 11:50 a.m. on Sunday. A resident found the body and reported it to police.

His family had reported him missing to police about three or four days before the discovery of the body.

On the tree from which Park hung himself, a placard was placed which read: ``Korea Express, stop suppressing the union.''

Park was wanted on suspicion of disturbing Korea Express' business by holding rallies to denounce the company together with individual courier service operators whose contracts with the firm were terminated.

The company terminated the contracts with some 70 operators on March 16 after failing to make an agreement with them about service fee hikes. Some of them have staged demonstrations, calling for a re-contract.

``Park was in a painful 50-day-long struggle and made little headway. I think he committed suicide in Daejeon, where the firm's hub terminal is located, in a desperate call for the company to return to the negotiation table,'' a union member said.

An official of the company said Park's death was regrettable, but the firm had to cancel the contracts because the individual operators made unreasonable demands.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr