In Solidarity,
Jason Chappell ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMITTEE TO DEFEND SOUTH KOREAN SOCIALISTS c/o Bookmarks, PO Box 16085, Chicago, IL 60616 773-665-9601- 773-665-9651 fax
"I think any country would deep these kind of people in jail."
With these words, South Korean president Kim Dae Jung pledged himself to continue the policy of previous military regimes of imprisoning socialists solely for their political beliefs. As a leading dissident under these regimes, Kim courageously fought for democratic rights. But today he is using the same repressive laws instituted by the military to crush opposition to austerity measures demanded by the International Monetary Fund.
On May 7 hundreds of police swooped down on three different locations in Seoul and Inch’on City to arrest members of the International Socialists of South Korea (ISSK). On May 12, President Kim issued an order for the arrest of 410 student activists. And, after a two-day strike in late May, Kim’s government filed criminal charges against 143 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.
The South Korean economy is facing its worst crisis in more than forty years. Unemployment has more than doubled since President Kim was elected in December 1997, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 7, adding: "Homeless shelters are popping up all over Seoul." Yet Kim’s priority is to reassure Western corporations. "Korea will become one of the best countries in the world for international investors to freely and safely do business," he told a joint session of the U.S. Congress on June 10.
Kim denies to his own people the freedom he promises foreign investors. To date, 26 supporters of the ISSK have been arrested following raids conducted with the assistance of police infiltrators. When challenged about the plight of jailed socialists during an address he gave at Stanford University on June 12, Kim Dae Jung said: "So far they have not given us any indication that they are ready or willing to change their beliefs. I think any country would keep these kind of people in jail."
By his words and actions, President Kim has made it clear that South Korea will remain a country where its citizens can be imprisoned solely for their opinions. He claims that "democracy and a market economy go together." But he is willing to sacrifice the democratic rights of socialists and trade unionists if these seem to conflict with what the market demands. The case of the International Socialists is therefore a test of the new administration’s treatment of the labor movement. We demand the withdrawal of all charges against those accused and their unconditional release, and call on the South Korean government to cease its repression of trade unionists and socialist activists.
Labor donated ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------ The above statement will be published in the New York Review of Books along with the names of its signatories. If you are willing to sign it, please complete the form, and return it to us. We would be grateful for a donation towards the cost of publishing the statement.
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