Mother of legendary labor activist dies at 82
By Na Jeong-ju
Lee So-sun, the mother of legendary labor activist Jeon Tae-il, who committed suicide in 1970 at the age of 22 by setting himself on fire during a protest, died at a Seoul hospital Saturday. She was 82.
Lee had been hospitalized since mid-July due to heart problems and was taking a handful of medicines. Doctors said Lee’s condition deteriorated suddenly early on Saturday, when her organs stopped functioning.
Following her son’s death, she herself became a labor activist. She was arrested several times in the 1970s and 80s due to her participation in illegal rallies against the authoritarian governments and assisting fellow activists.
In Jeon’s biography, published in 1991, the late author and lawyer Cho Young-rae wrote that Lee promised Jeon at his deathbed that she would dedicate herself to the labor movement.
“Mother, please carry out the things I failed to,” Jeon told Lee. Lee replied, “Don’t worry. I will carry out your wishes as long as I live.”
On Nov. 13 during a protest in the Seoul Peace Market near Dongdaemun against poor working conditions at factories, Jeon alit with flames shouted that “Abide by the Labor Standards Law! We are not machines! Don’t waste my death.”
He himself was a tailor working at one of the sweatshops in Dongdaemun.
In an interview with a local newspaper last year, Lee said, “What did my son die for? All laborers are born with the same human rights as President Lee Myung-bak and Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee. How did the Korean economy grow to the present level? With their blood and sweat the laborers have made what it is today. But they are not treated as humans now.”
“Why do they push the laborers? Pushed and pushed, the laborers fall into the river but no one offers a helping hand. What are the politicians doing these days? I wish I could see a better world before I die.”
Lee is survived by a son and two daughters. A memorial altar has been set up at Seoul National University Hospital.
Lee’s family and representatives of the Jeon Tae-il Foundation said it is undecided whether the funeral will be a public or private ceremony.