Back in Korea: Hyundai stike, NHRC on Ha Joon Geun, Gwangju sues anti-FTA activists

I'm back from North America, and settling down to things: which means, of course, sifting through some of the news and documents that I've missed. This will take a little bit of time, but for today here are a few interesting tidbits.

1. The strike at Hyundai over Christmas bonuses is still creating news, the latest news is that talks may be underway soon between labour and management here. Something to watch out for is the use of damage claims to punish striking workers.

2. I missed the release, but the National Human Rights Commission denounced the policing of this summers POSCO strike and protests that lead to the death of Ha Joon Geun and the injury of many more workers. Here's an excerpt from their report:

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea acknowledged that riot police had used excessive violence to break up the demonstration on the day of Ha Joong Keun died and further it abused banning of notification to disburse the demonstrations. The Commission acknowledged that Ha Joong Keun died during the riot police’s forcible attempts to break up the demonstration. The Commission recommended that the Attorney General fully investigate into the death of Ha Joong Keun. It also called for disciplinary action against the Chief Commander at the time of the demonstration---Pohang Nambu Police Chief as well as issue a warning to the Head of the Seoul Regional SWAT Police due use of excessive repression against the demonstrators.

3. Finally the city of Gwangju took anti-FTA demonstrators to court and is seizing their personal property as a mean of retribution against protests against the FTA there in November.

Judge Seo Jeong-am, in charge of civil affairs in Gwangju District Court, said that the court accepted Gwangju City’s request that was filed against six protesters, including a trade union member of KIA Motors, to secure bonds when the city won the lawsuit against the protesters, who took to the streets on November 22, 2006.

The judge also said, “The court decided to issue a provisional attachment on 200 million won (200,000 US) worth of real estate as Gwangju City’s request was considered reasonable.”