Moon meets umbrella union leadersPresident Moon Jae-in (C) poses with Kim Joo-young (L), head of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and Kim Myoung-hwan, head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, prior to their talks at the presidential office in Seoul on Jan. 25, 2019. (Yonhap)
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) has been emboldened ever since the Korean left was able to impeach President Park. So them protesting the US Navy personnel in Busan is not surprising:
Pictures of an anti-U.S.protest rally in South Korea spread online, causing concern ahead of U.S.President Donald Trump’s state visit to the country next month.
The rally was led by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the country’s second-largest umbrella trade union.Near a Busan hotel where the U.S.Navy held a party to celebrate its 242-year history Oct.14, protesters chanted messages like “U.S.troops go home!”
Since then, photos and a video of their protest have been shared by thousands of people on social media, including U.S.sailors and their families.
In their propaganda pamphlet to the sailors, they said, “Koreans despise dotard Trump.We also abhor you, his servants.It is because you are a war monster.”
A 35-second video, which is believed to have been filmed by a U.S.sailor on the same day, shows a Korean woman screaming and cursing at U.S.soldiers.
The KCTU, which has carried out anti-U.S.protests before, also criticized local police on its Facebook and Twitter accounts for protecting the sailors from protesters.
The pictures, video and the KCTU’s messages aroused anger among many Americans as well as Koreans. [Korea Times]
Thousands of members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) stage a rally at Gwanghwamun Plaza in downtown Seoul on June 30, 2017, demanding the government raise the minimum wage and employ all nonregular workers as regular employees. (Yonhap)
This is yet another example of how empowered the anti-American left currently is in South Korea:
Members of civic groups demonstrate in front of the Uijeongbu Sports Complex on June 10 in protest against the concert. / Yonhap
Korean singers on Saturday boycotted a government-backed concert for United States Forces Korea troops after workers and netizens revived a bitter episode involving the American military.
The municipal government of Uijeongbu in Gyeonggi Province organized the concert to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 2nd Infantry Division, which is stationed in the city.
USFK commander Vincent Brooks, the 8th U.S. Army commanding general Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal, 50 officers and 400 soldiers as well as more than 3,000 civilians attended the free concert at the Uijeongbu Sports Complex.
But the musicians invited ― including soloist Insooni, K-pop bands EXID, Oh My Girl, Sweet Sorrow, punk band Crying Nut and rapper SanE ― neither showed up nor performed.
Insooni, 61, whose father was an African-American USFK soldier, told the audience at the start of the concert that she would not perform her three songs.
Shorty after this, the audience was told that all planned performances had been cancelled, causing many people to leave.
The concert, scheduled for three-and-a-half hours, was cut short by an hour, and went ahead with gigs by the 8th Army Band, the city orchestra and dancing troupe, a gukak (Korean traditional music) band and a taekwondo demonstration.
The boycott stems from a tragedy in 2002 when a 2nd Infantry unit tank accidentally ran over and killed two female middle school students on a street in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province.
Even though the unit commander apologized and compensation was paid, two soldiers were found not guilty of killing the students because a U.S. military court at Camp Casey in Dongducheon ruled their deaths were an accident. [Korea Times]
You can read the rest at the link, but for those that have not, I highly recommend reading my entire prior posting on the 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident that provides the context of what happened:
The threats against these groups must have been very serious considering that Insooni pulled out of the concert and her father was a USFK servicemember and grew up around US military bases in Korea. So who was behind the threats? None other than the anti-US Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU):
Hours before the event, 10 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ northern Gyeonggi branch also demonstrated against the city government in front of the complex.
A confederation spokesperson said, “Forcing students to congratulate USFK’s establishment with celebrities goes against our educational ethics,” according to the Chosun Ilbo.
The KCTU also played a key role in the violent 2008 anti-US beef protests. Yes you heard that right these thugs from the KCTU launched violent protests against US hamburgers and steaks being sold in South Korea.
US beef protestors beat a Korean riot policeman in 2008.
10 years of conservative rule had forced the KCTU and other anti-US groups to lower their profile after the anti-US beef protests since the government took action against them and put their leaders in jail. With the new Moon Jae-in administration in charge, it is clear that these leftist agitators feel they have free reign to once again conduct aggressive anti-US activities just like what we just saw happen in Uijongbu. Expect more of this to happen in the coming months and years.
The pro-Kim regime lackeysin the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions were able to mobilize a pretty impressive number of people to protest the decision to implement state approved history textbooks and passing regulations allowing companies to more easily lay off older workers to help younger workers find jobs. The protest was the largest since the anti-US beef protests in 2008. These history books have not even been written yet, but I would not be surprised if like the anti-US beef craziness of 2008 that these textbooks end up being much to do about nothing. However, it gives the leftists in the KCTU reason to mobilize and bash the Park government:
Tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators marched in Seoul on Saturday in what police believed was the largest protest in the South Korean capital in nearly a decade.
About 80,000 people were expected to turn up for the downtown rallies that were to stretch into the evening, according to an official at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, who didn’t want to be named, citing office rules.
The marches, organized by an umbrella labor union and civic groups, brought together protesters with a diverse set of grievances against the government of conservative President Park Geun-hye, including her business-friendly labor policies and a decision to require middle and high schools to use only state-issued history textbooks in classes from 2017.
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions briefly clashed with police who unsuccessfully tried to detain KCTU President Han Sang-goon during a news conference, but there were no immediate reports of injuries. A Seoul court had issued an arrest warrant for Han over a failed court appearance, after he was indicted for his involvement in organizing a May protest that turned violent.
Demonstrators, many of them wearing masks and carrying banners, occupied a major downtown street and began marching between tight perimeters created by police buses, intended to block them from entering large roads leading to the presidential Blue House. A large number of police, many wearing helmets and body armor, move swiftly to flank the demonstrators.
This was probably the largest crowd seen in a demonstration in Seoul since 2008, when people poured onto the streets to protest the government’s decision to resume U.S. beef imports amid lingering mad cow fears, said the Seoul police official. [Korea Times]
