News / Koreas

South Korean protesters slam Seoul’s labor policies

Friday, 24 April 2015 2:55 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 24 April 2015 2:56 PM ]

Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) shout slogans during a rally against government policies in Seoul, South Korea, on April 24, 2015. © AP

Thousands of South Koreans have joined protest rallies in different cities to denounce the labor policies of the government of President Park Geun-hye.

According to Park Seong-shik, a spokesman from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), approximately 10,000 people took part in the rally in the capital, Seoul, on Friday.

The spokesman added that the protest in the capital was peaceful. There were, however, reports of sporadic clashes in other cities.

The protest in Seoul was held under tight security with thousands of police officers marching through the streets near the Seoul City Hall to keep the protesters in check.

In the southeastern city of Daegu, police used water cannons to disperse the protesters occupying a road. There was no report of casualties in the incident.

The nationwide rallies were organized by the KCTU, which is against a series of new government policies that will reduce wages and job security.

Labor organizations are also opposed to a revised pension system for government employees and family-owned corporations, known as the chaebol.

“The Park Geun-hye government must shift from current policies that serve only chaebol,” KCTU'S President Han Sang-goon said during the rally.

Riot police spray South Korean protesters with a water cannon in front of the Gwanghwamun (top), the main gate to the Gyeongbok Palace, during a rally to commemorate the first anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster, Seoul, April 18, 2015. © AFP

The demonstrations on Friday came after another anti-government rally last week, during which the protesters called for more government action in response to the April 2014 ferry tragedy that killed 304 people.

The participants in the rally sought an independent investigation into the deadly incident as well as immediate action by the government to recover the wreckage of the Sewol ferry.

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