“I Engaged in Union Activities to Make a Living, But I Ended up a Sacrifice of Politics”

Candlelight in Memory of a Worker: The members of the Korean Construction Workers Union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions hold lit candles to remember the union member who died after setting himself on fire ahead of his warrant review on May 1 in front of the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on May 3. Jo Tae-hyeong

The construction worker who died on May 2 after setting himself ablaze in protest to a prosecutor’s investigation left a suicide note asking for a world where the workers were the owners. Labor continues to rage against the government for driving a worker to his death by “stigmatizing” him.

On May 3, the Korean Construction Workers Union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) released the suicide notes of A (50), the dead executive of the Gangwon construction chapter. On May 1, Labor Day, A set himself on fire in front of the Gangneung branch of the Chuncheon District Court in Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do ahead of his warrant review. He left notes addressed to his family, the trade union, and political parties (Democratic Party of Korea, Justice Party, Progressive Party, and Basic Income Party). A was taken to a hospital for treatment but died on May 2.

In his note, A asked the union to get rid of Yoon Suk-yeol’s politics ruled by a prosecutorial dictatorship, “to make the mean bastard, who regards workers as an obstacle in his path, step down and to create a world where the workers were the owners.” In the note to the political parties, he wrote, “I joined the labor union to make a living and I worked hard. I only engaged in legitimate union activities, but ended up as a sacrifice of Yoon Suk-yeol’s politics of prosecutorial dictatorship.” He further asked, “Please release the innocent people under arrest,” and added, “Aren’t there a lot of bastards who do really bad things? Arrest them and set right the Republic of Korea.”

Labor condemned the government claiming that the hardline investigation labeling union activities, such as bargaining by the construction union as “blackmail” and “threats,” drove the worker to such an extreme decision. According to labor, the demand to hire union members and to pay for full-time union executives, which the government has been finding fault with, are realistic options that the union can demand in the construction industry, where the hiring of temporary labor and illegal subcontracting is still widely practiced.

The Korean Federation of Construction Industry Trade Unions, a KCTU affiliate, and the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) held a press conference in front of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea in Jung-gu, Seoul on Wednesday and said, “Sharp words not based on fact and the unreasonable application of the law by the investigative agency drove a construction worker and the father of two children to his death,” and demanded the Human Rights Commission for a statement.

At 6:30 p.m., the Korean Construction Workers Union organized a “candlelight event in memory of the construction worker who died a heroic death resisting the oppression of trade unions” in front of the War Memorial of Korea near the Office of the President in Yongsan, Seoul and urged the government to “stop oppressing construction unions.” They held signs reading, “Stop Killing,” and shouted, “The government killed him. Apologize and step down.”

Bak Nam-sin, head of the Paju branch of the Seoul and Northern Gyeonggi construction chapter of the union said, “Something that should never have happened occurred because of a planned investigation to oppress the union. This is murder.” Gim Bong-hyeon, head of the concrete mixer truck (remicon) division of the construction union’s construction equipment chapter in the Seoul metropolitan area said, “His only sin was that he sacrificed himself engaging in union activities and worked hard to secure the livelihoods of the workers.” He added, “Such a man died with the government wrongfully accusing him of blackmail and making threats. This is no different from a military dictatorship.”

Accusations that the investigative agency conducted an extensive investigation with the answers predetermined also continued. The police even promised special promotions and had officers visit construction companies nationwide and distribute report forms to encourage reports. According to the report form that the police distributed, which the construction union released on Wednesday, the police handed companies forms already partly filled out with accusations such as “*** (blank), the KCTU negotiator, demanded that we hire workers,” and “We had no choice but to hire a union member.”

In a press briefing, Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik said, “The government will do its utmost to create a practice for the co-prosperity of labor and management and for fairness in the labor market, including construction sites, to prevent such a tragic incident from happening again.”

The Korean Construction Workers Union will organize a demonstration condemning the government in front of the Office of the President in Yongsan in the afternoon of May 4, and five thousand members are expected to take part from throughout the nation.