Korea: Metalworkers' Union Demands Scandal Probe Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit source - Jun 11, 1999 by labornews@igc.org 06/11/1999 Korean Herald Metal workers' union strikes to demand probe into scandal by Kim Min-hee Staff reporter The nation's labor groups intensified protests yesterday to show their discontent with the alleged strike-rigging by the prosecution last year and pressed the government to inquire into the matter immediately. About 20,000 workers of the Korean Metal Workers' Federation (KMWF), a subsidiary of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), staged walkouts yesterday demanding the government invoke parliamentary rights to investigate the scandal and punish all those who are involved. The scandal concerns recent newspaper reports alleging that Chin Hyung-gu, a senior prosecutor, told reporters that he tried to stage a walkout at the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corp. (KMSPC) and then squash it, as a warning to other public firms considering strikes. The KMWF, which charged that the prosecution has been behind other strikes for a similar purpose, demanded that it keeps its hands off labor groups. "Labor affairs are about people's livelihoods and should not be dealt in terms of public security," said a KMWF official. The official added that less than a through investigation into the scandal will precipitate more strikes in the near future. Besides walkouts, some 200 KMWF member firms across the nation held protest rallies during lunch hour, the official said. Members of the KCTU, meanwhile, staged a march from the Government Complex in downtown Seoul to Chong Wa Dae. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) also renewed its determination to carry out a planned strike on June 16 yesterday at a representatives' meeting. Amid looming labor unrest, the government warned it will not sanction illegal strikes and punish those involved. In a labor-related ministers' meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil ordered a thorough probe into the scandal but said that illegal strikes will not be justified. In an attempt to hinder labor unrest from spreading, the government is expected to activate the tripartite panel of labor, management and government to hold regular talks with the labor and restore trust. Chin Hyung-gu, the senior prosecutor at the center of a strike-rigging scandal, meanwhile, denied yesterday the allegation brought against him. In an interview with Yonhap News Agency, Chin, former head of the public security department at the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office, said the allegation rose from a misinterpretation of his words spoken while he was drunk. "I have never intended to say it (that the prosecution induced the walkout) that way. It must be while I was recalling a series of events during my term as the head of the public security department that words were wrongly delivered," Chin said. Chin, stressing that the prosecution is not notified of any report until a firm goes on strike, said that he would be willing to undergo parliamentary investigation if there is one. "It (investigation) will make clear whether my words were misinterpreted or not. I believe a verification with the minting company and the planning and budget committee will show that my remarks were not true," Chin said. Chin further denied that he had made the report to Kim Tae-joung, then prosecutor-general. "How could I make such a report when the prosecution has never induced a walkout?" he said. Updated: 06/11/1999 ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytas-06.16.99-02:57:27-11866