Police raid teachers' union over anti-gov't campaign

SEOUL, July 3 (Yonhap) -- Police on Friday raided the office of a progressive
teachers' union which defied a government ban last month by releasing a statement
highly critical of policies enacted by the incumbent government.

Tension has been escalating between the left-leaning Korean Teachers and
Education Workers' Union and the government over the union's statement issued on
June 18, berating President Lee Myung-bak's competition-driven education policies
and authoritarian governing style.
While teachers claim the campaign is legal, the government insists it violated a
law that prohibits teachers at state-run schools from engaging in political
activities and is vowing to punish active participants.
Entering union headquarters around 5 a.m. Monday, police seized computer disks
and other documents related to the June statement.
Accusing the police of abusing their authority, unionized teachers vowed to go
ahead with a plan later this month to release a second statement demanding that
the government guarantee freedom of expression. They say the campaign, which will
involve issuing a signed statement, does not constitute political activity.
The teachers' movement is part of an ongoing anti-government campaign by
academics, civic and religious groups here largely triggered by the May 23
suicide of Roh Moo-hyun, President Lee's immediate predecessor.
Roh, a liberal human rights lawyer-turned-politician, leaped to his death from a
mountainside precipice above his rural southeastern home amid a corruption
investigation that sent several of his closest confidants to prison. His
supporters say the probe was politically motivated.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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