Activists plan protest at G-20 event

Korea’s union and activist groups are preparing massive anti-Group of 20 protests jointly with international organizations before and during the upcoming November summit to be held in Seoul, group leaders said yesterday.

An association of 47 civic groups will hold an official ceremony on Wednesday and declare their missions opposing the principles and goals of the G-20, including the globalization of the financial systems, the Korean Confederation of Trade Union (KCTU) said in a press release.

The main acting body of the planned protests includes the KCTU, a hard-line umbrella labor group with about 700,000 members, and the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, one of South Korea’s largest civic organizations.

The group has set Nov. 6-12 as its demonstration period to raise public awareness of problems of the global financial system. It will hold “The People’s Summit” from Nov. 8-10 to point out the problems in the agendas set by the global economic forum and to discuss alternatives, KCTU officials said.

During the two-day summit on Nov. 11-12, the body will hold large demonstrations throughout the capital city joined by domestic and international groups, they said.

On Nov. 9, the KCTU will jointly host “The Labour Assembly” with trade unions of Brazil and South Africa to discuss labor issues.

Trade union leaders of the Group of 20 nations will also gather in Seoul from Nov. 10-11, hoping to bring G-20’s attention to social and labor agendas. “The Trade Union G20 Summit” is hosted by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the world’s largest labor organization, representing 176 million workers in 151 countries.

Yonhap