22 April: Jang Ok Gi, President of the Korean Federation of Construction Industry Trade Unions (KFCITU), was released from prison on bail on 22 April 2019. This trial stems from a November 2017 rally led by President Jang demanding better, which blocked one of the main roads in Seoul.
“It is great to be out of prison and to return to the work of fighting for construction workers’ rights, but it remains a major concern that the South Korean Government is still imprisoning trade union leaders and other political activists simply for fighting for our rights,” said President Jang. “This has got to end. If this Government is serious about improving the situation for South Korean workers then we need to start a serious discussion on how to bring unions into the debate.”
On 13 April the Korean Construction Workers’ Union (KCWU, an affiliate of KFCITU) held a 20,000-strong rally demanding basic labour rights for construction workers, including the ratification of ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining. In the same week the BWI sent a letter to the South Korean Government calling for immediate ratification.
“We are pleased with the release of President Jang who we know will continue to advocate for the rights of construction workers in South Korea,” said BWI Asia-Pacific Regional Representative Apolinar Tolentino. “We now call on the release of Chun Byung Sun, then Organizing Director of the KCWU who was also jailed on the same charges as that of President Jang.”
