Union activists speak
SOUTH KOREA struggle as a threat to them and the present system. • Has any consideration been given to the possibility of setting up a political party linked to Chun No Hyep?
KSB: There has been some talk within other parts of the democratic movement
SINCE 1987, when the military dictatorship of Chun Do Wan fell and a massive democratic movement arose among the youth, South Korea has seen a succession of strike waves.
These struggles have led to a significant rise in wages and consumption and a general rise in the living standards of
South Korean workers. It has also led to major developments in the organization of the Korean workers' movement.
The most important of these has been the birth of an independent trade union, Chun No Hyep, which has been playing a leading role in these struggles despite fierce repression from the bosses and the state (see IV 184). We publish below an interview with two leaders of Chun No Hyep,
Kim Sang Bok, member of the unions Policy Planning Office and Kim Kyung Eun, vice-secretary of the regional council of
Seoul. The interviews were conducted in July for IV by Paul
Field.
ment and the capitalist class would do everything in their powers to destroy a organization democratic national of unions in the first six months after its formation.
Our intention was therefore to defend the movement through struggle.
strike at the Hyundai shipyard in Ulsan and within the Korean broadcasting system followed by the three day general strike in 200 factories or more across
Korea succeeded in breaking the deadlock and demonstrated the ability of the workers to organize mass action.
In the second six months of our existence we are hoping to raise workers' consciousness about wider issues such as housing, job security, and the appalling work conditions that cause thousands of industrial accidents every year. We also hope to consolidate the base of KAGTU.
At the moment we are in effect a national council of regional trade unions whereas our aim is to become a national federation of industrial unions.
• How does KAGTU continue to function with so many of its leading activists in prison or in hiding?
KSB: The situation is very difficult.
However, it is true to say that every new struggle is producing new leaders, while at the same time we are relying upon sup port and solidarity from the rest of the democratic movement, most notably from the student movement and the progressive
Minjung theology wing of the church.
• KAGTU was set up earlier this year by Minju democratic unions established during and after the 1987 strike wave mainly because the pro-government Federation of
Trade Unions failed to defend the interests of the workers. What has the relationship between the two organizations been since your formation?
KSB: Our basic position has always been to call for the maximum unity of the working class. In the three years between the struggle for democracy in 1987 and the foundation of Chun No Hyep we consistently fought within the FKTU to make it accountable to its members but at every tur we came up against the bureaucratic leadership that dominates and in turn subordinates the
Nevertheless, the fact that every union is forced by law to affiliate to FKTU means that there are many activists in the FKTU with whom we work very closely. Moreover the fact that it is illegal to give money to our organization has meant that there are many unions that while remaining part of the FKTU look to us for leadership.
As far as working with the FKTU nationally is concerned we called upon them to jointly sponsor the May Day celebrations and to assist in organizing the funeral of the worker who died at the Samsung shipyard, but they refused. As an organization that has been instrumental in defusing the workers struggle and in forcing them to accept the will of the employers they obviously see the development of a new national democratic union movement based on working class about setting up a People's Party. Officially there have been no pronouncements by Chun No Hyep concerning this, although in principle there are differences of opinion within Chun No Hyep over the usefulness of such a development.
For example, should we be spending some of our time and energy trying to form such a party, or should we concentrate all of our time upon the important business of strengthening and consolidating the base of our union movement as we are at the moment. What do you think?
If a legal political party was formed that, while proposing to defend the workers was at the same time very much part of the present system, and was opposed to anything that fundamentally challenged it, like the Labour Party in Britain, should we support it? • The clandestine conditions that KAGTU are being forced to operate under are not the most conducive for the maintenance of internal democracy. Other progressive democratic unions, such as Solidarnosc in Poland, found that when they went underground their internal democratic activity was restricted. What steps are being taken to preserve accountability within Chun No Hyep?
KSB: Even those leaders that are in hiding at the moment are still in regular contact with the rank-and-file membership. Unlike the FKTU we are organized from the bottom up. Our very formation came as the result of three years of activity by independent unions who felt there was a need to coordinate action on a national basis. The reason we have been successful in mobilizing workers is that it is our membership, the workers themselves, who make the decisions.
In each of the unions workers participate in the running of the union through a number of sub-committees that cover a range of issues including organization, strikes and women's issues. We were borne out of the undemocratic way in which the unions and the government exercise control and the workers need to empower themselves. Our continued growth depends on maintaining the vitality of our internal democracy. • Are you confident about the future?
KSB: We are sure of victory. Whatever the state and the capitalists do, they cannot defeat the workers. We will pemain 19 true to the banner of Chun No Hyep. *
The growing isolation of the "great leader"
International Viewpoint #195 • November 26, 1990