<Anchor>

Workers' Day, mass rallies were held throughout downtown Seoul yesterday (1st). The two major unions, the Democratic Workers' Union and the Korea Workers' Union, harshly criticized the current government's labor policies, foreshadowing a struggle. In Gangneung, a construction workers' union official attempted self-immolation ahead of a court warrant review and is currently in critical condition.

The first news is from reporter Bae Joon-woo.

<Reporter>
Members of the Democratic Workers' Union with
red signs filled the area of Sejong-daero in Seoul.

They defined the first year of Yoon Seok-yeol's regime as a time of labor repression and announced a general strike in July.

[Yang Kyung-so/Chairman of the Democratic Workers' Union Committee: One year of Yoon Seok-yeol's administration, our society is horribly broken.]

Soil also poured out in the Yeouido area of Seoul.

[Kim Dong-myung/Chairman of the Korea Federation of Labor: Is the 1-hour workweek really for workers?]

The General Confederation of Public Employees' Trade Unions called for a guaranteed May Day holiday, and for delivery workers, to raise the basic delivery fee.

The arrest warrants against three executives of the Kangwon branch of the Democratic Workers' Union for illegal activities at the construction site have been dismissed.

From April to February last year, they were charged with forcing union members to hire at a construction site in Gangwon and accepting more than 7 million won from the affected companies in demand of salaries from site executives.

However, the Chuncheonji Law Gangneung Jiwon did not believe that there was enough reason to arrest the three men.

The fact that these three officers admitted to the crime and remorsefully considered that there is sufficient evidence gathered to date.

However, the court found that "their alleged crimes are dismissed."

One of the three suffered burns to his body in an altercation in front of the courthouse yesterday morning prior to the warrant hearing.

The officer is said to be in critical condition, still unable to regain consciousness.

(Video Interview: Heo Chun, Kim Nam Sung & Choi Choi-woong, Video Editing: Kim Ho-jin)