STUPID UNION TRICKS

A photo taken at the scene of a rally by striking LG Caltex union members in which unionists performed a parody of Kim Sun-il’s beheading has spread through the Internet, inviting public criticism.
The photo, which was posted on the union’s web site and distributed to other Internet sites, contains the scene of one union member acting as the company chairman kneeling down with his eyes covered with three others standing behind him with red masks on.

The striking LG-Caltex workers had little public sympathy before this incident. Refinery and petrochemical workers are paid around Won50m ($43 000/Euro34 800) a year, while most manufacturing workers earn around Won30m a year. As well, the refinery is Korea's second largest, so the strike threatened the broader economy.



After this, any public goodwill they may have had had will likely vanish. Koreans had a strong reaction to Kim's murder, and the government went as far as shutting down access to most blog-hosting sites to prevent local people from accessing the video (causing much discomfort for bloggers like the Marmot's Hole).

Marmot's Hole has more on this and lots of other keen Korean items.