Umbrella union to stage large-scale rally in central Seoul this week

SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the biggest umbrella labor union in South Korea, will hold a large-scale rally in central Seoul this week in protest of the government's labor policies, union and police officials said Tuesday.

The rally set for 4 p.m. Wednesday in central Seoul will bring together about 20,000 members of the KCTU to protest against what the union said was the government's "anti-labor" policies and police investigations targeting labor unions, according to the union.

Ahead of the rally, the Korean Construction Workers' Union and the Korean Metal Workers' Union, both affiliated with the KCTU, will hold respective rallies that include a protest demonstration near the presidential office, union officials said.

National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun warned the police will deal sternly with any illegal act during the rally and fire pepper spray to disperse protesters, if necessary.

"If the KCTU stages an illegal assembly during the rally ... such as those in the form of mass street camping, police will immediately disperse (protesters)," Yoon said in a situation monitoring meeting. He also instructed officials to "prepare for the use of capsaicin sprays if it became necessary in a dispersing process."

Police have not used capsaicin sprays in dealing with protest rallies since March 2017.

Police also plan to deploy 80 riot police teams in central Seoul on Wednesday and block traffic on some roads in central Seoul in response to the scheduled rally, police officials said.