Thousands of South Koreans protest against work policies

THOUSANDS of South Koreans marched in Seoul yesterday for a third week to protest against government labour policies and the handling of a ferry disaster that killed more than 300 people a year ago.

Demonstrators, many of them carrying banners and wearing yellow jackets – the colour identified with supporters of the families of the ferry disaster victims – occupied several streets and sporadically clashed with police officers.

Twelve people were detained for allegedly assaulting police officers and other disorderly conduct, said an official from the National Police Agency.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Police created tight perimeters with their buses to block the marchers, contributing to a significant disruption in com- muting traffic. In several streets, protesters tried to move the buses by pulling ropes they tied near the vehicles’ wheels and police responded with pepper sprays.

Many buses were vandalised by protesters who sprayed antigovernment slogans on them.

South Korean labour groups have denounced government policies they say will reduce wages, job security and retirement benefits for state em- ployees. “We, the workers, will succeed in forcing the administration of [President] Park Geunhye to stop its repression of labour,” Han Sang-goon, president of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, shouted at one rally.

Marches on 1 May are rooted in global labour movements. The Seoul protesters were joined by supporters of ferry victims’ relatives who want a more thorough inquiry into the sinking.