Korean activists urge release of Somyot

Korean trade unionists have taken turns in staging a ‘one-person picket’ in front of the Thai Embassy in Seoul to urge the Thai government to release Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, arrested for lèse majesté and detained without bail since late April.

On 13 July, two members of the Federation of Korean Chemical Workers Unions (FKCU) took turns in staging a two-hour-long one-person protest in front of the Thai Embassy in Seoul, South Korea.

This was the third consecutive day that Korean activists had organized a series of protests to demand that the Thai government release Somyot, a veteran Thai labour activist and editor of Red Power and Voice of Taksin magazines.

The Federation of Korean Chemical Workers Unions is the largest labour organization in South Korea’s chemical industry with a membership of 54,000.

FKCU Chair Kim Dong-myeong sent a letter to the Embassy to demand Somyot’s release on 8 July. 

The protest started on 11 July with a member of the Korean Health & Medical Workers’ Union (KHMU) and continued the following day with members of the KHMU and the Korean Labour & Society Institute (KLSI).

The Korean activists said that they would continue their protest until 24 July.

Source: 
<p>http://www.prachatai3.info/journal/2011/07/36035</p>

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