Fines on Rally Participants Expected to Restrict Labor Activities
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
The Lee Myung-bak administration is slapping heavier fines on trade union members for taking part in ``illegal'' labor actions, a move that is expected to restrict their overall activities.
The prosecution recently indicted 60 trade union members of Koscom, a stock information-providing unit of the Korea Exchange, for illegally demonstrating and asked the court to impose a 1 million won ($1,000) fine on each member.
Union members were charged with occupying a crossroad in Yeouido in central Seoul for about 10 minutes last October without permission. They were protesting against the police's use of force to disperse a previous demonstration.
Temporary workers of Koscom have staged sit-in rallies near the company building in Yeouido for about 200 days since September, demanding the firm promote their work status to ``permanent.''
``We've been on strike for six months. I earn only 300,000 won per month with part-time jobs at construction sites. The 1 million won fine is huge,'' one union member said.
Similar punishment was given to union members of E-Land.
E-Land unionists held sit-ins at the company's New Core and Homever outlets last July to protest the firm's move to lay off 900 non-regular employees.
Some 160 workers who occupied the Homever store in northern Seoul were fined between 100,000 won and 3 million won each, and 209 union members at the New Core outlet in southern Seoul, 1 to 3 million won each. The total amount of fines reached 401 million won. Temporary workers generally make less than 1 million won per month.
``The authorities used to give lighter fines to workers or just release them after admonitions in similar cases. It is too harsh to slap such heavy fines on all rally participants. The prosecution is trying to shackle the labor movement,'' a lawyer for the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said.
He added that such heavy fines may restrict the basic freedom of assembly and demonstration for workers.
In reaction, an official of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said authorities are just strictly applying labor rules under the principle of not tolerating illegal labor activity.