S.Korea charges ex-leaders of labor unions over spying for North Korea

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - At least four former labor union leaders in South Korea on Wednesday were charged with alleged spying for North Korea.

The unnamed leaders, all aged over 45, in the past were associated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the country’s largest umbrella of labor unions.

Prosecutors in the Suwon city of the northwestern Gyeonggi province claimed that the former leaders “used labor activities as a cover for espionage at the instruction of North Korea,” the Seoul-based Yonhap News reported.

“The four allegedly formed an underground organization with an aim to gain control of the labor union and spearheaded labor protests on key political and social issues all at the instruction of North Korea,” according to the prosecution investigation.

The prosecution said they violated South Korea’s National Security Act -- a law in effect since 1948 -- which criminalizes “praising or propagating activities of anti-state organizations or their members, notably from North Korea.”

The Korean War in the 1950s between the North and South ended in an armistice on July 27, 1953, but there has never been a peace treaty between the divided Koreas.

The indicted people have been accused of meeting North Korean spy agents in Cambodia, Vietnam, and China since 2017.

The prosecutors also claimed that the accused have received “written instructions from North Korea on a total of 102 occasions” since 2018.

Information regarding elections for the top KCTU leadership and photo images of the American military base in Pyeongtaek, Air Force facilities in Gyeonggi's Osan city, and other military equipment were also collected by the accused, the prosecution added.