South Korean president appeals for calm to labor unrest
South Korean president appeals for calm to labor unrest
Agence France-Presse
Seoul
President Roh Moo-Hyun appealed for calm on Monday after the
most violent clashes seen in South Korea in years between labor
activists and police left about 100 people injured.
"It's not right for workers to resort to illegal and violent
means," Roh told a meeting of presidential staff, according to
his office.
Roh, a former human rights lawyer who won last year's election
with support from unions and liberal groups, directed his cabinet
to take strong action against violent demonstrations.
His appeal came a day after thousands of metal pipe-wielding
workers hurled rocks and firebombs at riot police, turning a main
thoroughfare here into a rubble-strewn river of flames.
It was the first time in nearly three years that workers used
firebombs in street protests. Police said 110 protesters
including a U.S. citizen had been detained for questioning.
"The American was held while shouting slogans with Korean
workers in the street. We will release him if he was not involved
in violence," metropolitan police spokesman Kim Sung-Shik told
AFP.
The riot followed a labor rally by 40,000 workers affiliated
with the militant Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU),
which organized a half-day strike last week.
The umbrella labor group blamed police for triggering violence
and vowed to go ahead with a full-scale work stoppage on
Wednesday.
"Police should be blamed for excessively cracking down on
protesters," it said in a statement.
The group said some 60 workers were injured. Police said 50
policemen were injured.
Labor unrest has intensified since three labor activists
committed suicide last month to protest new laws aimed at curbing
union power and giving employers more freedom to hire and fire.
Workers are particularly incensed at lawsuits filed by
companies against strikers for losses caused by industrial
action.
The demonstrations come as Roh's government faces uncertainty
after a corruption scandal sent his popularity plummeting and
prompted him to call a referendum on his rule.
The demonstrators used about 500 firebombs in clashes which
lasted two hours, police said. Activists targeted the president
personally, chanting "Down with the Roh regime."
The government has promised to curb labor militancy and
strikes, which have alarmed foreign investors and worsened this
year's recession.
Companies want tighter restrictions on strike pay and greater
freedom to use replacement workers during strikes, arguing South
Korea's competitiveness is suffering because of high labor costs.