Education International has expressed grave concern at the escalating violence against legitimate trade union organisations in South Korea. Authorities have staged raids in the last few days, including against one of EI's affiliates in the country, the Korean Teachers' Union (KTU).
EI is particularly worried about the detention of 138 union leaders, who were arrested while attending a meeting at the headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. EI has received information that while all other union leaders have been set free on December 24, KTU president, Kim Jeonghun, remains in custody.
The Korean Teacher's Union has been subject to various forms of harassment for the last years. It has been de-registered in October 2013, in breach of international standards. The arrest and continued detention of KTU's President is another agressive act against the union. EI will not fail to report these new developments to the relevant United Nations monitoring mechanisms and OECD.
EI will also closely monitor the outcome of the court investigation, which will determine the warrant's validity.