The demonstration was organised by a broad democratic movement coalition known as "Solidarity for Democracy", which includes KCTU and major social movement organisations, such as, National Alliance for Democracy and Reunification in Korea; People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy. KCTU unionists made up most of the people who turned up at the demonstration. The demonstration was small in size, but a first step in the continuous build up to protest IMF imposed layoffs and social impact arising from IMF conditionality.
Today IMF and Korean government have reached an agreement on a package of 'reforms' in order to receive IMF bailout credit.
This calls for immediate closure of a number of finance companies, austerity measures which will reduce growth rate to around 3%, 1% increase in VAT, total liberalisation of the financial market to allow foreign banks to take over Korean banks, or own sizeable shares in Korean banks.
These measures will most likely bring about massive dismissals -- an estimated 1 million new unemployed workers.
First targets of layoff are workers in financial companies and banks, followed by a chain reaction of company closures in manufacturing sector.
KCTU and its affiliated industrial federations will build up action to mount strong resistance to indiscriminate layoff which Korean companies are expected to undertake.
If companies start to layoff workers, it is expected to give rise to massive social destabilisation and unrest. This is because there is no effective or functioning social welfare system and unemployment insurance which could cushion the effect of job loss.
KCTU believes the current problem is not a short term one, but a medium to long term problem. We will build up momentum of struggle this month and in the new year. It will naturally link up to the annual round of wage and collective agreement negotiations.
Trade union movement in Korea was excluded from the consultation process which adopted the dangerous programme of 'destruction'.
KCTU calls on the government (and IMF) to convene a substantial social summit to analyse and identify the problems and causes of the current crisis and to develop a programme of actions to overcome the crisis based on active consensus.
Unilateral and indiscriminate enforcement of the IMF recommendations will only further fuel the anger of people and their resistance.
KCTU and other social movement organisations, under the umbrella of "Solidarity for Democracy" will organise another demonstration -- this time much bigger in size -- on Saturday, December 6. We expect some 2 to 3 thousand people will take part in this public rally.