Saenuri staffer behind attack on unionists

By Yi Whan-woo

A member of the ruling party is the head of the private “security service” firm involved in an assault on unionists of an automotive component maker SJM on July 27.

Contactus, the security firm in question, said Thursday that Saenuri Party member Moon Sung-ho, 52, quit as its president Wednesday as police widened their investigation into the attack.

“Yes, he’s a Saenuri Party member, but he has nothing to do with Contactus any more or the assault on the plant workers,” said a company official who refrained from giving his name.

The revelation came after the Korea Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU) and some members of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) called for a thorough investigation of the assault case in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.

The KMWU said that the Ansan police allegedly ignored the attack on union members of the car parts producer by Contactus “security staff.”

One hundred and fifty SJM unionists were assaulted early Friday morning while staging a protest in front of the firm’s main office against a lockout. The KMWU, an umbrella labor organization of the SJM union, said about 200 Contactus staff entered the area to force the workers out of the plant.

The police only arrived on the scene an hour later after receiving an emergency call from a unionist, and also remained outside the plant without taking action. Thirty-four workers suffered injuries, including 11 who were seriously hurt, according to the KMWU.

The umbrella labor union has filed a complaint with the prosecution Tuesday, calling for a thorough probe. It claims that police and the security service company had a “dirty connection” in advance.

The Ansan police have formed a 23-man special investigation unit to look into the case. It has booked a total of 18 suspects, including 13 Contactus employees, for allegedly using violence against the workers.

The KMWU also called for an investigation into Moon, who served as president of Contactus from March 2011. It also claimed he landed the position as he has been a “loyal” member of the ruling Saenuri Party.

According to the union, Moon was a campaign team member for then-leading candidate Lee Myung-bak during the 2007 presidential election and also ran as a Saenuri Party candidate in the local elections in 2010.

Contactus has allegedly provided security services for the Saenuri Party on many occasions, and the party recommended Moon, who majored in martial arts at college, as head of the firm when it sought a new president.

Moon, however, claims he only served as a “nominal” president and merely had connections with the security service company.

“I never received a salary from Contactus and I think I was reckless for accepting the proposal to let the firm use my name as president of the company,” he said.

The DUP visited both SJM and Ansan police Thursday, calling for a thorough investigation into the possible involvement of politicians in the assault.

“This isn’t a simple violence case,” the DUP said in a statement.

“The security service industry has been criticized a number of times for attacks on the deprived and has shown rapid growth under the Lee Myung-bak administration, and we demand every single truth to be brought to light.”