International Federation
for Human Rights

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in South Korea.

Brief description of the situation:

According to the information received, on December 5, 2008, Mr. Lee Suk-haeng, President of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), was arrested for "obstruction of business" pursuant to warrants issued against him on July 24, 2008, along with four other officials of the KCTU and its metals-sector affiliate the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU), namely Ms. Jin Young-ok, KCTU First Vice-president, Mr. Lee Yong-shik, KCTU General Secretary, Mr. Jung Gab-deuk, KMWU President, Mr. Nam Taek-gyu, KMWU First Vice-President, as well as all six of the top elected officers of the Hyundai Motor Branch, namely Messrs. Yoon Hae-mo, Kim Tae-gon, Kim Jong-il, Jung Chang-bong, Joo In-koo, Jo Chang-min. All warrants were issued on the basis of the provisions in section 314 of the Penal Code for "obstruction of business".

The eleven above-mentioned human rights defenders were arrested for organising a general strike on July 2, 2008 to protest against the Government’s decision to resume imports of beef from the United States of America (USA) in the absence of the necessary food safety guarantees, and to express solidarity with workers from the E-Land retail company employed under precarious and exploitative employment arrangements in violation of safeguards introduced into law in July 2007. The Prosecutor and the Ministry of Labour have declared that the strike was illegal on the grounds that the strike did not specifically focus on issues related to wages and working conditions.

Following the issuing of the arrest warrants in July 2008, Mr. Lee Yong-shik and Ms. Jin Young-ok had been arrested and subsequently released on bail. The KCTU headquarters building had been surrounded by the police, people entering the premises were subjected to searches, and homes and family members of KCTU leaders had been subjected to police surveillance.

The Observatory expresses its deep concern about Mr. Lee Suk-haeng’s arbitrary arrest, as it seems to aim at sanctioning his labour right activities and, more largely, KCTU activities. The Observatory further recalls that in May 2008, Messrs. Torna Limbu and Abdus Sabur, respectively President and Vice-President of the Migrant Trade Union (MTU), an affiliate of the KCTU, were arrested and subsequently deported to their home countries (Nepal and Bangladesh respectively)[1].

Action requested:

Please write to the authorities in South Korea urging them to:

i. guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Lee Suk-haeng, Ms. Jin Young-ok, Mr. Lee Yong-shik, Mr. Jung Gab-deuk, Mr. Nam Taek-gyu, Mr. Yoon Hae-mo, Mr. Kim Tae-gon, Mr. Kim Jong-il, Mr. Jung Chang-bong, Mr. Joo In-koo, Mr. Jo Chang-min as well as all human rights defenders in the country, including trade unionists;

ii. put an immediate end to any obstacles to the activities of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU);

iii. put an end to all forms of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Mr. Lee Suk-haeng, human rights defenders in South Korea, including trade unionists, as well as any obstacles to freedoms of expression, association and assembly;

iv. ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually or collectively, to promote the protection and fulfilment of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels", article 5.b which stipulates that everyone has the right "to form, join and participate in non-governmental organisations, associations or groups, as well as article 12.2, which provides that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually or in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration";

v. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international human rights instruments signed or ratified by the Republic of Korea.

Addresses:

· Mr. Lee Myung-bak, President of the Republic, Blue House, Seoul, Republic of Korea, Fax: +82 2770 1690

· Mr. Han Seung-soo, Prime Minister, 77-6 Sejongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Fax: + 82-2-720-35 71. Email: m-opm@opm.go.kr

· Mr. Kim Kyung-han, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 1 Jungang-dong, Gwacheon Government Complex, Gyeonggi Prov., Republic of Korea. Fax: + 82-2-504-5724 / +82-2-503-3337 / +82-2-503-3532 / +82-2-500-9128.

· Mr. Lee Young-hee, Minister of Labour, 2 Jungang-dong, Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Prov. Republic of Korea. Fax : + 82-2-3679-6581

· National Human Rights Commission of Korea, Gumsegi Building, No. 16, Ulgiro 1-ga, Jung-gu, 100-842 Seoul, Republic of Korea. Tel: +82 2 2125 97 00; Fax: + 82-2-2125-9812 / +82 2 2 125 98 11 / 96 66 / +82-2-2125-9718. E-mail: nhrc@humanrights.go.kr

· Ambassador Mr. Sung-joo Lee, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations in Geneva, 1 avenue de l’Ariana, CP 42, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland. Fax: +4122 748 00 01. Email: mission.korea-rep@ties.itu.int.

· Embassy and Mission to the European Union of South Korea in Brussels, 175 Chemin de la Hulpe, 1170 Watermael-Boitsfort, Belgium. Fax: + 32 2 675 52 21 / 662 2305. Email: rokembassy@skynet.be / eukorea@skynet.be / whlee85@mofat.go.kr.

Please also write to the embassies of South Korea in your respective country.

***

Geneva - Paris, December 10, 2008

Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.

The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

Tel and fax OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29