[Photo] Bus barricades and marching unionists

Police busses line the streets in central Seoul’s Gwanghwamun and Jongro neighborhoods to block the general strike by KCTU scheduled for Wednesday.(Yoon Woon-sik/The Hankyoreh)

Ahead of a large-scale general strike organized by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) for Wednesday, police set up barricades of busses in Gwanghwamun to blockade the rally, creating traffic jams in downtown Seoul. Citing virus curbs, the government had disapproved of the strike, and a total of 12,000 police officers were mobilized to stop it from taking place.

Police busses line the streets in central Seoul, causing traffic problems. (Yoon Woon-sik/The Hankyoreh)

Undeterred, KCTU members switched locations to Namdaemun, Jonggak, and Seosomun in Seoul, holding blitz rallies across the city. At around 2 pm, unionists from KCTU arrived near Seodaemun Station and occupied it with a flash assembly.

KCTU unionists taking part in the general strike on Wednesday afternoon gathered near Seodaemun Station in Seoul and began their march. (Yoon Woon-sik/The Hankyoreh)

Minister of Interior and Safety Jeon Hae-cheol had urged the KCTU to call off the strike, saying that it could “threaten the preventative measures and shatter hopes of a return to normal” at a meeting on Wednesday.

But the KCTU countered, saying, “During the rally by the KCTU on July 3, thousands of spectators sat in the seats of baseball and soccer arenas and concerts with thousands in attendance were allowed to happen indoors. Even politicians were able to declare they were running for president to crowds of thousands of people. Only outdoor rallies have been effectively banned, and to confine the leader of the nation’s No. 1 union is a restriction on the freedom of assembly made under the guise of virus countermeasures.”

KCTU unionists taking part in the general strike on Wednesday afternoon gathered near Seodaemun Station in Seoul, and began their march. (Yoon Woon-sik/The Hankyoreh)

By Yoon Woon-sik, senior staff writer

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