Seoul asks prosecution to probe union following remarks
The Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs said on Aug. 25 that it has asked the Seoul Central Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the nationwide civil servants’ union following the union’s demands that the government scrap an annual South Korea-U.S. joint military exercise, calling it a "war game." The joint exercise, dubbed the ’Ulchi Focus Lens,’ began in 1975. During the annual drill, held from Aug. 21 to Sept. 2, about 8,000 U.S. soldiers, including those from Japan and Guam, join in the practice. "The union’s comparing the Ulchi drill with a war game that heightens a possibility of war and tension on the Korean peninsula is the same thing as North Korean propaganda," the ministry said. "It’s obviously an illegal act for public servants to oppose an important policy of the government.""To sternly cope with future illegal acts by civil servants who pose a significant threat against national security, we asked for the investigation into the union," the ministry said. On Aug. 18, the union issued a statement titled, "We strongly demand the abolition of Ulchi exercise, a war game that threatens the peace of the Korean peninsula." "We won’t accept the drill against North Korea, [especially] amid the government’s moves to materialize reunification via civil exchanges," the statement reads. Responding to the ministry’s request for investigation, Choi Nak-sam, a union spokesman, said, "We understand the investigation request as a measure to curb us by [rousing] public opinion. We don’t need to react to [the ministry’s request]." The union is believed to have a membership of about 110,000 to 140,000 workers, organized under regional unions in local governments.
