By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
The Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union (KTU) issued its second statement against the government, Thursday, ignoring a warning from the education authorities. The progressive teachers' union is collecting signatures from its members and a list will be announced in its magazine later this month.
The second anti-government statement comes in reaction to the government's move to dismiss or suspend 88 KTU members who led the first anti-government signature campaign.
``Teachers should also be guaranteed freedom of speech alongside the rest of the people. The mass dismissal and sanctions of teachers are an abuse of the power that disrupts democracy,'' it said in a statement.
However, the education ministry is maintaining its policy to deal strictly with participating teachers as their anti-government campaign violates the Civil Servant Law.
``We will take stern actions against those teachers leading the campaign,'' an official of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said. ``We've already asked local education offices to direct teachers not to sign the statement.''