Intelligence Agency Searches the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions in Pursuit of Spy Activity

The National Intelligence Service and the police bring out boxes of items they seized after searching the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) head office in Jung-gu, Seoul in connection to the alleged violation of the National Security Act by the executives of the Confederation on January 18. This was the first time that a state agency searched the KCTU head office in connection with communism-related allegations not directly linked to union activities, such as a strike or demonstration. Kim Chang-gil

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the police conducted a search and seizure of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) head office in Jung-gu and the Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union office in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul on January 18 in connection to a probe into alleged violations of the National Security Act by the labor executives. This was the first time that a state agency searched the head office of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions for allegations connected to communism, and not directly related to union activities such as a strike or demonstration. Some experts claim that the Yoon Suk-yeol government has begun cracking down on opposing forces in the name of security.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) obtained a search warrant for ten locations including the KCTU office and the Medical Workers’ Union office in Seoul along with the suspects’ homes and vehicles from the Suwon District Court on January 16 and conducted the search on Wednesday. They identified A, a director at the Confederation; B, a director in the Medical Workers’ Union; C, the head of a civic group in Jeju; and D, a former executive in the Korean Metal Workers’ Union as suspects who allegedly violated the National Security Act.

Authorities conducted an extensive search of the suspects’ homes, offices, vehicles, bodies, and cell phones.

The intelligence agency thinks the suspects met with North Korean agents of the Cultural Exchange Bureau in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Hanoi, Vietnam in September 2017 and August 2019 respectively. The NIS claimed they had evidence obtained legally and said, “It is likely that the suspects, centered on A, formed an underground organization in connection with the North Korean operations agency and conducted missions.” The intelligence agency believed that the suspects stored related evidence in the union offices and computers and conducted a surprise search and seizure after following A to work on Wednesday morning. The NIS argued that due to the likelihood of the suspects to destroy evidence, they faced challenges in obtaining evidence with normal investigative methods and requested the search warrant.

The authorities are also investigating progressive party activists and members of a farmers’ organization for establishing an underground organization linked to North Korea and engaging in anti-government movements in Jeju and Changwon and Jinju in Gyeongsangnam-do recently. A police representative said that the search of the KCTU had nothing to do with these recent incidents. However, the intelligence service believed that C was somewhat connected to a figure who emerged from the Jeju case.

Labor fiercely protested the latest action. Han Sang-jin, spokesperson for the KCTU, released a statement and said, “The Yoon Suk-yeol government is returning to an oppressive rule with security as an excuse and claiming to uphold the National Security Act in order to conceal its incompetence and mistakes in state administration, and is forcing our society to relapse in our achievements.” “We told the authorities that we would cooperate with the search, but the police brought in dozens of officers to intimidate us,” said the Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union. They added, “They are trying to stir public opinion by bringing up the National Security Act, an age-old artifact.”