Prosecutors to get tough with KEPCO union¡¯s illegal strike

The Seoul District Prosecutor's Office (SDPO) said Thursday that it will get tough with the strike of unionized workers of the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) scheduled to start Friday.

The prosecutor's office defined the KEPCO labor union's walkout as illegal, noting that it would take legal action against the union leaders on suspicion of their obstructing the performance of official duties.

An SPDO spokesman said that KEPCO is an indispensable workplace for public interest and the strike is itself illegal.

He also said that the SPDO would never tolerate a possible power cut caused by the walkout of the state-run power supply firm.

If the National Labor Relations Commission's arbitration proposal is rejected by both the management and labor at an indispensable workplace for public interest and the committee decides to refer the dispute to its arbitration ex officio, the strike itself become an illegal act.

However, the SPDO sees little possibility that the KEPCO union will go on a general strike on Friday, the anniversary of its founding, or on the weekend, and plans to monitor the development of the situation until Monday, the spokesman said.