Unyielding Action for Democracy

Unyielding Action for Democracy South Korean people’s action for democracy in south Korea is getting intense as the year is drawing to close.   The committee for promoting the release of prisoners of conscience and organizations of citizens and students held a rally outside Cheongwadae on Dec. 16 to demand the release of prisoners of conscience. Prior to the rally, they marched from Gwanghwamun Plaza to Cheongwadae, chanting slogans in demand of immediate release of all conscientious prisoners. The conscientious prisoners including the KCTU chairman Han Sang-geun and a member of former Unified Progressive Party Lee Seok-gi have been imprisoned during the period of Park Geun-hye’s office, they charged.  They said that the people as well as the civic and religious groups are demanding release of the conscientious prisoners.   At the rally speakers said that the present chief executive should make a bold decision on the release, adding that they won't stop their struggle until all the prisoners of conscience arrested during the period of the preceding regime are released. They shouted slogans such as “Set free Han Sang-geun and Lee Seok-gi”, “Moon Jae-in government should make a bold decision to release the conscientious prisoners” and “Acquit conscientious prisoners without delay”. The secretary of the KCTU, who has been wanted by the police, went to the representative office of the ruling party to go on hunger strike on Dec. 18 and the KCTU held a news conference in front of the Democratic Party to demand the release of the KCTU chairman and trade unions activists and removal of detrimental revision of the labor law and political prisoners.   The Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union held a meeting in Seoul on Dec. 15 to urge the authorities to remove the evils in education. At the meeting with more than 2 000 teachers involved, the speakers urged the "government" to withdraw the measure to outlaw the union and abrogate the system of estimating teachers and wage system based on piece rate. They denounced the authorities for evading the liquidation of evils in the education, demanding the establishment of a new educational system to ensure the rights of educational workers. The withdrawal of outlawing the union is a symbol of revival of democracy, however, the authorities turned down their demand, they criticized.