▲ Participants chant slogans during a general strike rally held by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) near the Dongwha Duty Free shop in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on July 15.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) held a general strike rally in downtown Seoul today (July 15), calling for the realization of direct negotiations with prime contractors.
The KCTU held the rally in front of the Dongwha Duty Free shop in Jongno-gu, Seoul, at 3:00 p.m. today.
The turnout was estimated at 5,000 by the police and 10,000 by the KCTU.
Amidst the sweltering heat, participants waved fans distributed at the scene instead of picket signs, chanting slogans such as "Win direct negotiations with prime contractors through general strike struggle," "Punish vicious companies that refuse direct negotiations," and "Condemn the Lee Jae-myung administration for neutralizing direct negotiations."
KCTU President Yang Kyung-soo raised his voice, stating, "Since the revised Trade Union Act went into effect, numerous subcontracted and irregular workers have demanded negotiations, but prime contractors remain silent and are only focused on evading their responsibilities." He added, "The time for patience is now over."
Yang argued, "The place where the Minister of Employment and Labor should be running to is not Samsung Electronics, but Homeplus, Woochang Connecta, Optical, and Sejong Hotel, where workers have lost their jobs."
Yang also urged, "The Lee Jae-myung administration must immediately scrap the enforcement decrees and administrative guidelines that have become tools for evading direct negotiations, and punish business owners who refuse to come to the bargaining table."
Due to the rally, four lanes in front of the Dongwha Duty Free shop were closed to traffic.
Following the main rally, participants are also set to march toward the area in front of the Blue House.
At the same time, the Homeplus branch of the Korea Mart Workers' Union held a general mobilization rally in front of the Blue House, demanding that the government prepare measures for the revival of Homeplus.
Kang Woo-chul, head of the Korea Mart Workers' Union, said, "The government must address the public damage caused by policy failures and protect the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people," adding, "If the lives of 100,000 people collapse because this issue is not resolved, this will be recorded as a government that ignored the people's livelihoods."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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