June 28, 1999

Korean People's Cry against Global Monsters!

On June 18, around 200 people gathered at the center of Seoul, KwangHwaMoon-street. They were participating in therally under the title of "June 18 People's Action Day against the IMF, BITs and WTO Millenium Round". It was organized in accordance with June 18 International Action Day by people's organizations such as KCTU, Korean Farmers' League, Seoul Women's Trade Union, People's Solidarity for Social Progress. As for Korean people, issues of BITs and Millenium Round are some strange. That's why, some unionists misunderstood J18 action as a rally denouncing supression over trade union by the government.

The rally at which Mr. Kim Tai-Hyun, director of planning department of KCTU, presided, started from a performance prepared by "Action Network against the Neoliberalism, ASEED Korea". The performance was on as a type of 'imaginary talk' between Jorge Soros, one of the famous speculators and Marcos, vice-commander of Zapatista. Marcos denounced the deceitful attitude of Soros, saying "You(Soros) argues 'Open Society' and also a master of speculation. However, they are contradictory to each other. Because speculation by masters like you in pursuit of momentary profit, hinder our building 'Open Society', moreover it has pushed so many people down into catastrophe all over the world."

The first speaker at this rally was Mr. Heo Young-Goo, vice president of KCTU who was on hunger-struggle impeaching oppression over trade union by the government with other leaders at MyungDong Cathedral. He said, "It is time to discuss new international financial order confronting with violence by transnational financial capital. Especially transnational speculative capital should be controlled."

And then, Mr. Choi Min-Siek who is one of the most famous actors in Korea, made a solidarity speech. Currently film producers, actors and directors are struggling desperately for defending Screen Quota System. He denounced the government for an attempt to abolishit in the process of BIT's negociation with U.S. and cried out to the people, "We should defend the Screen Quota System to the last. It is to defend cultural sovereignty". The government was reported that it tried to reduce by steps the 141 days a year for showing domestic films defined in the law from the year of 2002. Next Mr. Lee Chang-Geun, a member of PICIS spoke of main problems of BITs and WTO Millenium Round, saying that "the BIT is the clone of the MAI. It would ensure even speculation by TNCs, deprive people of livelihood rights and weaken the role of nation state. We have already had many foreign cases which show negative impacts on people and environment by liberalization & deregulation. The BITs and Millenium Round will only encourage current trends of liberalization which is origin of global catastrophe".

Finally Mr. Cheong Kwang-Hoon, presedent Korean Farmers' League, announced struggle declaration in which he impeached the government of supression over people domestically as well as of its attempt of concluding the BITs & WTO Millenium Round. After the rally, participants marched to the MyungDong Cathedral by bike. Some bikes had flags with 'opposition to the BITs and moratorium to the Millenium Round'. Duringthe march, participants scattered 'counterfeit money' as warning of danger of the BITs and trnasnational financial capital. It is reality that the issues of BITs & Millenium Round are strange for Korean people. Actually Korean people have been fighting for achieving livelihood rights on local level which had been deprived of by the government and Chaebol since IMF bail-out. Those are 'redundancy dismissal', 'restructuring' and 'privatization'. So June 18 action against the BITs and Millenium Round is very important for Korean people from the viewpoint of enlarging their struggle to the international level.

Policy & Information Center for International Solidarity (picis@jinbo.net)

     
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            Policy & Information Center for International Solidarity
            Website : http://picis.jinbo.net/
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