KCTU Politburo Resigns Over Rape Cover-Up
The executive board of the radical Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, a violent organization with strong links to the pro-North Korean fifth column in South Korea, has resigned to atone for trying to cover up the attempted rape of a female union member by a “senior” union official:
The Korea Confederation of Trade Unions says its entire executive board is stepping down to account for a sexual assault scandal. In a press briefing the KCTU said the leadership is resigning in hopes of easing the victim’s pain and as a gesture of a sincere apology. The second largest umbrella labor union has come under intense scrutiny after one of its senior officials was accused of attempted rape of a female union member last December. The victim claimed last week that the confederation tried to cover up the incident. [Arirang News, via the Chosun Ilbo]
Jailed KCTU Chairman Lee Sok-Haeng was one of the puppetmasters of last year’s anti-American mad cow protests. When violence predictably broke out at some of the KCTU’s sympathetic rallies and other, unrelated strikes, an arrest warrant was issued for him. The victim was a female member who hid Lee during his several months on the lam:
The KCTU had been facing criticism for allegedly trying to convince a woman to keep quiet after she was the victim of an attempted sexual assault by a senior KCTU member. The woman had provided KCTU Chairman Lee Seok-haeng with safe hiding while he was on the run from government authorities in January of 2009. After Lee was arrested, the senior KCTU member attempted to rape her. [The Hankyoreh]
The story doesn’t specify whether the attempted rape was punishment for some security transgression or merely a case of predatory opportunism. Amidst the apologies and resignations for the cover-up, the cover-up goes on: the Hanky reports that the KCTU is investigating whether some of its members leaked word of the cover-up to the press.
The sympathetic Hankyoreh concedes that this development throws the union into “limbo” and undermines its “moral center,” but this isn’t an unprecedented development:
This is the fourth time since the union began in 1995 that its leadership has resigned. In 2002, its leaders stepped down over protests against a strike deal reached by the unionized workers of several power-generation firms. In 2005, the leadership resigned over a bribery case involving the organization’s deputy chairman.
The Hanky reports that most of the casualties of the latest scandal were actually some of its more ideologically moderate leaders, meaning that even more radical factions may rise by default.
Related:
The National Police Agency submitted to government ministries Friday a list of organizations involved in illegal protests and violence.
This includes more than 1,800 civic organizations including members of the People’s Association for Measures Against Mad Cow Disease, which hosted last summer’s massive protests against the resumption of U.S. beef imports. A number of minor opposition parties such as the Korea Democratic Labor Party are also on the list.
The ministries will review the list to decide whether to continue government subsidies for them. [Chosun Ilbo]
As reported here.