South Korean Union Leader Cleared of Charges Over Protest Participation

An education committee in South Korea's North Jeolla Province has decided not to discipline Lee Min-kyung, a leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) Jeonbuk chapter. The committee ruled that her participation in a protest, dubbed the 'Kisses protest,' did not constitute a violation of public official ethics.

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The minimum common sense has been confirmed that citizens' actions demanding the restoration of constitutional order against internal rebellion and illegal martial law cannot be disciplined.

Lee, who is a teacher on official leave for union activities, had previously received a summary fine of 1 million won for participating in a rally in Seoul that called for the arrest of then-President Yoon Suk-yeol. The North Jeolla Provincial Office of Education had deemed this a violation of the duty to maintain the dignity of public officials and sought disciplinary action.

In response, various civic groups, including the Jeonbuk chapter of the KCTU and the North Jeolla Constitutional Reform Movement Headquarters, staged protests and sit-ins in front of the education office. They argued that Lee's actions were a legitimate civic resistance aimed at restoring constitutional order amidst what they termed "internal rebellion and illegal martial law."

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The education office unreasonably demanded disciplinary action based solely on the criminal charges of obstructing traffic, ignoring the national situation and the purpose and public interest of the civic action.

Following the committee's decision to not pursue disciplinary action, these groups declared it a confirmation of basic common sense. They criticized the education office for pursuing disciplinary measures based solely on a traffic obstruction charge, ignoring the context and public interest of the protest. They are now demanding an official apology from the Superintendent of Education, Cheon Ho-seong, for the undue process and for not intervening to stop the disciplinary committee's proceedings.

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Superintendent Cheon Ho-seong has a political and moral responsibility for not reviewing and halting the flawed disciplinary process, even when disciplinary action was initiated during the previous superintendent's term.