2023-10-17 00:00:23
Kim Jin-sook, a leadership member of the Busan headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, is being interviewed at the Busan regional headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions in Busan on the 12th. Senior Reporter Chang-gwang Kang chang@hani.co.kr
Kim Joo-ik, former head of the Hanjin Heavy Industries (currently HJ Heavy Industries) branch of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union, committed suicide on Crane No. 85 at the shipyard in Yeongdo-gu, Busan, complaining of the pain of the company’s union suppression and provisional seizure following an outrageous claim for damages. It was the 17th of the month. And eight years later, Kim Jin-sook, a leadership member of the Busan regional headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, climbed once more on the 85th crane that Kim Joo-ik had climbed. Numerous citizens came to Crane to cheer on Leader Kim on the ‘Hope Bus’, which raised awareness of the issue of forfeiture of boats that oppressed labor union activities for the 309 days he endured. Nevertheless, 20 years following Kim Joo-ik’s death, the Yellow Envelope Act (Amendment to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act), which aims to prevent companies from indiscriminately filing damages lawsuits for industrial action, has not yet passed the National Assembly. On the 12th, I met leader Kim at the Busan headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and heard a story regarding Kim Joo-ik and the Yellow Envelope Act. Leader Kim is nicknamed ‘Kim Ji-do’ among the members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. Kim Ji-do first met Kim Ju-ik in 1987. He was tall enough to recognize Kim Joo-ik even from a distance. When Kim Ju-ik was on a high-altitude protest for 129 days, Kim Ji-do, who was blocked from entering the factory, would go to the yard of a small temple on a mountain road near the factory and look at Crane No. 85. “Because the temple is located high up, the location was like a crane. You can see Joo-ik walking back and forth on the crane in his work clothes from afar. Because he is such a big person. Then it seemed like he was saying something to me. What Jooik wants to say, what I want to hear… .” Eight years later, when Kim Ji-do climbed onto the 85th crane and entered the cockpit, he was reminded of that tall stature once more. “How did that big man live here? He said the first thought that came to his mind was “129 days?” It was so narrow that even when Kim Ji-do lay down, his head and toes touched the cold iron wall of the crane. My heart ached as I remembered Kim Joo-ik, who had been squatting in that cockpit for 129 days. “At that time, I felt devastated and very sorry. Mr. Joo-ik called me the day before he died. But I didn’t answer the call. The situation was obvious, but I didn’t know what to say. “It took a really long time for that bell to ring.” The provisional seizure of the boat harassed Kim Joo-ik in a vicious way. The last salary Kim Joo-ik received, whose house was also provisionally seized at the time, was a total of 1.65 million won. After deducting taxes and provisional seizures of 730,000 won, his actual income was 135,080 won, excluding deductions. The money wouldn’t even have been enough to buy Heely’s sneakers, which he promised his children would get when they got off the crane. At that time, Hanjin Heavy Industries sent a communication to 180 union members regarding the union’s strike, pressuring them to file a claim for damages worth 15 billion won. Kim Ji-do said that the provisional seizure of labor unions is a vicious system that destroys not only the parties involved but also their entire families. Kim Ji-do said, “Before, if you went on strike, you would be arrested and fired, but not anymore. “Because there is a more murderous weapon called lien seizure,” he said. “The whole family is ruined, the children’s school fees and milk costs have to be cut off, and the children have to buy used clothes. But even if you do that for the rest of your life, you won’t be able to repay it.” Less than two weeks following Kim Joo-ik’s death, Kwak Jae-gyu, who was mourning his death, also jumped from the dock next to the crane. Nine years later, Choi Kang-seo, deputy director of the Hanjin Heavy Industries branch, committed suicide, unable to overcome the weight of the 15.8 billion won loss. The weapon called Sonbaega Seizure that led to their deaths is still alive. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (now Hanwha Ocean) subcontractors who went on strike last year shouting, ‘We can’t live like this, can we?’ were hit with a lawsuit for 47 billion won in damages.
Kim Joo-ik, former head of the Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction labor union, committed suicide on October 17, 2003, 129 days following entering a high-altitude sit-in protest, claiming 1.8 billion won in damages, withdrawal of provisional seizure, and reinstatement of fired workers. The photo shows a protest procession in Busan in memory of former Chairman Kim. Hankyoreh data.
“Even when Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering subcontractors who worked at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering talk regarding it, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering just turns their backs and says it’s not their business. I think this system that legally recognizes the avoidance of responsibility is really wrong. So, they use seizure as a weapon… . If this is the case, workers will live in poverty their whole lives, and there is really no way to escape that poverty. Because it made it impossible to escape the tedious cycle of subcontracting. “We need to get rid of this ridiculous structure and hold the main office accountable. This is common sense.” The Yellow Envelope Act, which restricts indiscriminate provisional seizures and expands the bargaining rights of subcontracted workers, has been referred to the plenary session of the National Assembly, but it is still unclear whether it will pass as the ruling and opposition parties postpone its submission. Kim Ji-do said, “The Yellow Bag Act was already created through the consent of citizens from its inception. “I think we just need to discuss how to refine this and establish it, but we are working on a social agreement or an agreement between the ruling and opposition parties,” he said. “The fact that no small bill related to worker issues is allowed shows that everything revolves around companies anyway. “It’s regarding who this society revolves around,” he said. “It is no exaggeration to say that the deaths of those colleagues defined my independence. Actually, there are times when I want to run away. But it seems like those people were just protecting it every time. Because of the guilt at that time, the promises, etc… .” Kim Ji-do’s 37 years of life as a laid-off worker have been filled with guilt over the deaths of his colleagues and a promise to create the world they wanted to live in. So Kim Ji-do said he hoped no more workers would die. However, even following the Yoon Seok-yeol administration took office, construction worker Yang Hoe-dong and taxi worker Bang Bang-hwan set themselves on fire. The government’s refusal to budge in the face of these heavy deaths once once more felt cruel. “This is the same country as the will of Jeon Tae-il, who died in 1970, and the will of Kim Joo-ik, who skipped a century ago in 2003. The will of Bae Dal-ho of Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction and the will of Joo-ik Kim of Hanjin Heavy Industries, which skipped the region, are from the same country. “This is a country where Cho Soo-won, who was protesting at the Democratic Party headquarters, and Kim Joo-ik, who was protesting on top of a crane, ended their lives in the same way.” This sentence that Kim Ji-do recited in Kim Joo-ik’s memorial address 20 years ago touched the hearts of many people. Now, 20 years later, Kim Ji-do evaluated it as a “society that has become more vicious.” Kim Ji-do said, “I think workers and civil society have really developed a lot. “It was through the power of solidarity that I got off the crane in 2011, and the yellow envelope law was also created by citizens,” he said. “But I think politicians and businessmen have become more mean and vicious as we have developed.” “Still, I don’t think this type of control will last long. I hope the workers hold on. I hope I don’t die anymore. Accidental or intentional… “I hope there will be no deaths other than natural causes.” Kim Ji-do, who underwent cancer surgery in 2018 and continued treatment, underwent reoperation in 2020 when the cancer recurred while he was fighting to return to work. He is now focusing on treating the followingeffects of surgery. He, who goes to more than four medical departments, laughed and said, “I’m trying to be good to my body, but I don’t know how because I’ve never tried it before.” “The site (which I looked around following reinstatement) was still just rusty, and there was such a sense of loneliness with no people around. I imagine that kind of thing once in a while. We eat together at that site, work together, and just smile when we pass by together, and I think it would be great if we might do that. But those people aren’t there, and I’m old… That’s right.” Reporter Jang Hyeon-eun mix@hani.co.kr
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