It is about time that violence like what you see below is now going to be illegal:

The Lee Myung-bak administration is slapping heavier fines on trade union members for taking part in “illegal” labor actions, a move that is expected to restrict their overall activities.

The prosecution recently indicted 60 trade union members of Koscom, a stock information-providing unit of the Korea Exchange, for illegally demonstrating and asked the court to impose a 1 million won ($1,000) fine on each member.  (…) “The authorities used to give lighter fines to workers or just release them after admonitions in similar cases. It is too harsh to slap such heavy fines on all rally participants. The prosecution is trying to shackle the labor movement,” a lawyer for the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said.

He added that such heavy fines may restrict the basic freedom of assembly and demonstration for workers.  [Korea Times]

Of course the Korean left is now equating the crackdown on illegal protests to what happened in Gwangju in 1980.  One Free Korea explains this quite well:

Why, it’s Kwangju all over again! (No, they really say this.) After all, if you can’t express yourself with a Molotov cocktail or an iron pipe, how can you express yourself?

Hitting them with fines is a start but these people should be jailed for what they do to the riot policemen:

For example after a protest against the Camp Humphreys relocation 30 riot policemen had to be hospitalized.  These riot policemen are young mandatory service conscripts that do not deserve this kind of treatment from these adults who feel they have the inalienable right to pound this conscripts into a pulp.  If a GI took a metal pipe or bamboo pole and decided to beat a Korean with it like you see in these pictures, what do you think would happen to the GI involved?  Anyway it is good to see that finally something is being done about it.

Once again check out One Free Korea because he has a good read on this.

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