Thousands of unionized workers held a rally in central Seoul on Wednesday, calling on President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol to improve labor conditions.
Some 4,000 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the more militant of South Korea’s two major umbrella unions, joined the rally near Jongmyo Park, far less than the 10,000 it had initially planned to have.
Citing virus infection risks, the Seoul city government had banned the rally last week, but the Seoul Administrative Court on Tuesday partially granted an injunction by the labor union, allowing it to go ahead with the rally on the condition COVID-19 prevention rules are strictly followed and the size of the rally is limited to less than 300 people.
Separately, about 5,000 farmers and fishermen gathered in the southern district of Yeouido to oppose the government’s push to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a mega free trade deal in the Asia-Pacific region involving 11 nations, including Japan, Canada, Mexico and Australia…