(Bloomberg) -- The largest umbrella union in South Korea declared its opposition to President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law, calling for a general strike to force him to reverse course.
“We are here to curb the illegal declaration of martial law and also impeach President,” said Kim Jin Euk, head of Seoul office at the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Korea’s largest umbrella labor union with about 1.2 million members. “I can’t believe he is doing this crazy thing.”
The 60-year old union leader added his voice to widespread protests in the country at the president’s stunning decision. As people took to the streets, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik quickly gathered lawmakers to vote on lifting martial law — 190 people in the 300-seat parliament supported the measure.
“He is now facing political attacks and now he is doing this thing while Korea is facing unfavorable political circumstances,” Kim said of the president. “We will plan a general strike and we don’t know when it will end.”
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