Human rights watchdog Amnesty International (AI) called on the South Korean government to immediately release the union leader of YTN as a walkout by hundreds of unionized employees at the cable news channel entered its third day Wednesday, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Roh Jong-myeon, YTN's union leader, and three other unionists were taken into custody Sunday on charges of interfering with the official duties of the company's new president, Koo Bon-hong. The union blocked Koo from entering his office last year in protest against his appointment, which it sees as politically motivated.
The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for Roh but released his colleagues Tuesday night.
"This will not affect the strike in any way," its labor union said in a statement.
Labeling the arrest "unwarranted government interference and harassment," AI said the union leader should be released immediately.
"These arrests violate the right to freedom of assembly and the freedom of the press and constitute a very worrying development for the South Korean media," Roseann Rife, the organization's Asia-Pacific Program Deputy Director, said in a press release.
YTN's workers have been on strike since Monday, demanding a pay raise and the reinstatement of unionists fired for opposing the appointment of their new chief, a former media adviser to President Lee Myung-bak.