Nice Town. It’d Be a Shame If Something Happened to It.

If you thought North Korea bought its South Korean supporters, you underestimated just how unnatural this intercourse really is. We know the going rates for the various Il Shim Hue operatives were cheap, but South Korea’s violent far-left unions are actually helping to keep Korigula’s palaces stocked with Hennessey. South Korea’s unions, particularly the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, have a history of trashing public property during their demonstrations, so when they make extortionate demands for city funds to celebrate May Day with their North Korean friends, the towns’ officials had better listen.

The country’s two umbrella unions, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, demanded hundreds of millions of won from local governments for an inter-Korean labor convention to mark May Day, Changwon city government and the South Gyeongsang provincial government confirmed yesterday.

In a joint letter, the two labor federations asked the provincial and city governments for 410 million won ($440,480) and 50 million won, respectively, according to the local governments. [Joongang Ilbo]

This was no small ransom, and not one the municipalities felt free to refuse lightly.

After some internal discussions, the provincial government decided to offer 100 million won, but the city government said it has not yet reached a decision due to opposition from the city council.

“We have only one option “• to divert some city budget for other expenses and later make a supplementary budget. But it is difficult to persuade the city council because that option might cause problems when supporting other civic groups in the future,” said an official at the city government.

A union spokesman, characterizing this Stalinist propaganda spectacle as a “cultural event,” explained that the poor unions and North Korea couldn’t afford the travel costs (the North’s funds are committed to other urgent priorities, like nuclear weapons, submarines, and more artillery to aim at Seoul).

The two labor unions confirmed having provided $60,000 in cash to a North Korean labor group, the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea.”At a working-level meeting in Kaesong, North Korea, the two labor unions offered the money for the airfare of the North Korean labor group,” said an official at the confederation.

The North Korean labor group had asked for 100 million won in cash for flights and accommodations in advance as a condition for joining the convention, according to the labor groups.

Am I mistaken, or isn’t it still illegal for South Koreans to provide funds directly to the North Korean regime? Not that it matters to anyone anymore. South Korea’s fifth column has come of age. No mere puppet now, it has become a lucrative tool for North Korea to extract taxpayer funds from South Korean municipalities — an engine fueling the oppression in the North and a destroyer of civic culture in the South. And of course, the national government of South Korea also subsidizes these thugs.