KORAIL strike called off...

After severely damaging the railway system and being constantly harassed by the state, the KORAIL union have decided to conditionally end the longest strike in the union's history. Time will tell why they decided to end the strike and if this is a good move; KORAIL was in the weaker position and many officials doubted KORAIL could last a long term strike.

In other news, the ILO has condemned the Korean government for its substandard labor laws involving irregular workers. They also continued the long tradition of condemning penal code 314 (which allows business to sue workers for obstruction of business), which has been on the ILO's list for one of the longest running complaints against any country (its been going on for ten years). For the full report by the body (as well as information on other countries) look here.

UPDATE:

Reuters has actually posted a nice and relatively long article on this news event. Unfortunately the news seems to be far more griming than what Korean news sources are reporting:

The union said it was suspending the strike temporarily to regroup, but management said it was effectively a surrender.

"We are calling on comrade members to briefly return to the workplace so we can prepare for a new strike," the union said in a statement. "We have not been able to achieve our demands."