Calls for Truth and Justice Persist!

On February 4th, just one day before the 100th day anniversary of the Itaewon tragedy that occurred on October 29th, family members of the victims and citizens set up a memorial altar at Seoul Plaza. However, even after 100 days have passed, the truth about that day has yet to be properly investigated. The police’s special investigation unit and the national assembly’s investigation have ended with little success, as they only questioned on-site personnel and did not investigate the fundamental causes of the tragedy. On January 13th, Park Hee-young, the mayor of Yongsan-gu, and Kim Kwang-ho, the chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, were arrested and charged on charges of negligent homicide in the performance of official duties. However, the special investigation team decided not to press charges against Yoon Hee-Geun, the chief of police who did not deploy riot police to prevent the tragedy, Lee Sang-min, the minister of interior and safety, who is in charge of commanding and overseeing the police, and Oh Se-hoon, the mayor of Seoul, who should have taken responsibility for the disaster that happened in the very heart of Seoul. The investigation said that they do not have “concrete” responsibility for the disaster and therefore their acts cannot constitute a crime. Without having one proper face questioning, the investigation ended.

A parliamentary probe into the Itaewon Tragedy was also found to be inadequate. While the state, local government, and police were found responsible at a comprehensive level, many important facts could not be properly checked due to perjury or refusal to submit relevant evidence by attending institutions. In particular, the family members demand to know the exact time and place of the death of victims as they are either unknown and listed merely as ‘on the streets of Itaewon,’ and to have a thorough investigation in which the families can participate. The families also accuse the government of unfair treatment by trying to prevent them from coming together. The families demand to know what actually triggered this man-made disaster given that many of the police officers on that night were said to be undercover to investigate drug offenses rather than crowd-controlling. There is so much truth yet to be revealed. We demand the launch of an independent body to lead the investigation of the Itaewon tragedy. We ask you to stand with us in the pursuit of finding the truth of the Itaewon tragedy.

Researchers Honored at the ‘Twinkle Twinkle Distinguished Theis Award’ Ceremony for Shining Light on the Cold World.

On January 30th, the Participatory Society Research Institute hosted the presentation ceremony for the winners of the ‘Twinkle Twinkle Distinguished Thesis Award’ at the Areum-Dri hall in the PSPD. We offer our deep appreciation and encouragement to the researchers who expose the reality of our society and pursue practice-oriented research. These researchers include: Goo Ji-hye, who revealed in her research how labeling “teenage labor” as “deviant” on the pretext of protecting teenagers would lead to the denial of citizenship and labor rights for young women; Ahn Hwa-young, who shed light on how the urban poor, who were sacrificed in the brutal process of industrialization, gained their voice through the urban novels of the 1980s; Lee Hee-young, Jung Da-wool, and Jung Seong-jo, who tracked how the biopolitics in the K-covid19 strategy operated to exclude sexual minorities; and Shin Hyun-a, who studied Okpo Nobo, the newsletter of Dae-woo Shipbuilding Labor Union, and put together the process of how the workers tried to create and retain their own language in the contest with the capitalists after the ’87 Grand Struggle.

Two Years After Myanmar Coup, We Will Achieve The Spring Revolution With Myanmar People

On February 1st, it marked the two-year anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar. As of the end of January, the death toll of civilians in Myanmar had reached at least 2,901 people due to the military’s increasing violence against the people. Despite the military’s violent actions such as shooting, bombing, arson, and arrests, the people of Myanmar have not stopped fighting for democracy. In support of the pro-democracy movement, the Korean Civil Society in Support of Democracy in Myanmar, along with the Myanmar communities in Korea, held press conferences, rallies, and marches to condemn the Myanmar military and honor those who sacrificed their lives in the fight for democracy. It was a time for Korean civil society organizations to come together and raise their voices in support of the ongoing struggle for democracy in Myanmar.

NIS Urged to Relinquish Control of Espionage Investigations: A Core Reform for Democracy and Rule of Law

Concerns have been raised as the NIS raided the headquarters of labor unions over suspicions of anti-state activity, bringing back memories of the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, which sought to create a police state by strengthening the authority of the NIS. As a result, the PSPD has joined the Democratic Oversight Networks of the NIS, a coalition of civil society organizations and congresspeople, to hold an emergency discussion. During the gathering, it was pointed out that attempts to reverse the core reform of the NIS – the transfer of authority to conduct anti-espionage investigations – are threatening both democracy and the rule of law, and must therefore be stopped.

South Korean Court Rules in Favor of Protesters’ Right to Pass in Front of Yoon’s Office

The PSPD has filed a lawsuit to revoke the ban on demonstrations near the presidential office imposed by the Yongsan Police Station. A Seoul Administrative Court ruled against the police, stating that the presidential office was not considered part of the presidential residence defined in Article 11, Paragraph 3 of the Assembly And Demonstration Act. This was the basis on which the police had issued dispositions banning gatherings. The court’s ruling is absolutely correct as it confirms that the police’s arbitrary interpretation was unlawful. Demonstrations that express the opinions of civilians about the president should take place where they can be seen and heard by the president.

“No” to E-Commerce Monopolies: Action Needed.

Recently, unfair practices by online platform operators such as Coupang, Kakao, and Naver Corp have been revealed one after another. The EU and the USA will soon put the Digital Market Act into force, which designates large online platforms as important gatekeepers and regulates anti-competitive behavior by companies. The “National Network for Fairness in Online Platforms,” of which the PSPD is a part, has proposed the “Online Platform Monopoly Regulation Act,” which is Korea’s version of the Digital Markets Act. They are working together with Rep. Lee Dong-ju of the Democratic Party to introduce this act.

Translated by a PSPD Volunteer

The post This Month at PSPD, March 2023 appeared first on 참여연대.

This Month at PSPD

PSPD held the 2022 Public Interest Whistleblower Award Ceremony

Since 2010, the Public Interest Reporting Support Center of the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) has been holding ‘The Whistle-blower of the Year Award’ every year to honor and recognize the whistle-blowers’ courage and dedication to the public interest. This year, 12 whistleblowing cases that were recommended by congresspeople, national organizations, civic groups, and journalists were reviewed. Three teams were announced as winners and two candidates as special awards on December 9th this year. The winners of the whistleblower award of the year are those who reported the corruption of the Smart School business at Uchon Elementary School, those on the human rights violations of the disabled living in Seongrakwon, and those on the leakage of radioactive material from the spent nuclear fuel storage tank at Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant. Special awards were given to two candidates who were first-generation whistleblowers for the contribution they made to the protection of whistleblowers in Korea. These candidates had resisted illegal and unfair instructions by the government and enacted the Anti-Corruption Act in an era when the word “whistleblower” was not very well known in Korea.

Revise Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union And Labor Relations Adjustment Act(TULRAA)!

On December 9, the general strike of the cargo union ended. The 16-day strike not only confirmed the poor treatment that cargo workers face but also revealed that the discussions on the “safe-rates system” and “expansion of goods” have not proceeded properly despite agreements made between the Cargo Truckers Solidarity union and the government in June. It is critical time to address the chronic problem of cargo workers’ long working hours, which will ultimately threaten the safety of workers and citizens. However, the Yoon administration chooses to respond with both anti-labor and hostile measures. The “back-to-work” order, which aroused controversies for being anti-constitutional, was issued, and a lawsuit against cargo unions for compensation for damage was mentioned by the Yoon Administration. Meanwhile, it has been almost a month since the ‘TULRAA Article 2·3 Revision Movement Headquarters’ launched a hunger strike for the guarantee of labor rights for all workers. PSPD is also working with the “TULRAA Article 2·3 Revision Movement Headquarters” as PSPD’s co-representatives, executives, and full-time activists have joined the hunger strike.

State audit on the relocation of the presidential office by the request of citizens, only partly accepted.

Last October, 700 citizens submitted an audit request for the inspection of the relocation of the presidential office, but the state auditor has only accepted parts of the requests, It still is a great achievement made by PSPD members and citizens, as it was the first inspection by the state audit on the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, but the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) decided to dismiss key claims—alleged violations of the National Finance Act due to waste of the national budget and legitimacy related to the presidential office’s employee recruitment. We cannot let the BAI act like a pawn for the president. We will keep urging the BAI to do proper inspections and keep working to get to the bottom of the presidential compound relocation process.

Shout for peace on the Korean Peninsula with the Nobel Peace Prize winners!

The Campaign to End the War on the Korean Peninsula asked former Nobel Peace Prize winners, who visited Gangwon-do to attend the <Nobel Peace Prize World Summit>, to work together for an end to the Korean War and peace on the Korean Peninsula. The representative of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (awarded in 2017), founder of the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet Organization (awarded in 2015), representative of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (awarded in 1985), Lima Bowie (awarded in 2011), etc have joined in the joint press conference (December 13) and shouted, “Let’s achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula and take a step toward world peace.”

Welcoming the enactment of the delivery unit price linkage system that has been delayed for 14 years

The “delivery unit price linkage system,” which had been delayed for 14 years, was finally passed. The delivery unit price linkage system is a system that allows raw material price fluctuations to be reflected in the delivery unit price in transactions between prime contractors and subcontractors. This system is expected to alleviate the hardships of small and medium-sized businesses. Last September, PSPD proposed through the National Assembly members an amendment to the Fair Transactions in Subcontracting Act, which covers not only raw materials but also labor costs. We will continue to work on further legislation.

Introducing the “sparkly” research of a budding researcher

Since 2018, the Participatory Society Research Institute has established and supported the ‘Twinkle Twinkle Distinguished Thesis Award’ to support emerging researchers who are raising their critical voices in the humanities and social sciences. Three winners and one honorable mention were selected among the research papers that shed light on the lives of minorities and the underprivileged. Congratulations to those who won the prizes! Also, we would like to express our gratitude to the 6,365 citizens who showed their support by raising funds for the “Kakao Together Value.” The award-winning papers can be viewed on the PSPD website.

Consolation, determination, and hope!

On the evening of December 15, the year-end party was held at the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) for the first time in three years. Despite the sudden cold weather, thankfully, many still came to participate. Together, we wrote down the lists of wishes for the coming years and tied them up to the branches of a wish tree. We prepared a time to express our special thanks to the information desk volunteer members, who are always reliable and there for us, and also to the four sisters who became members of PSPD all together this year. We send our thanks to the members who have been strong supporters of the PSPD this year. We hope to have another great year with you!

Translated by a PSPD Volunteer

The post PSPD English Newsletter, Jan/Feb 2023 appeared first on 참여연대.