The organization held a rally in Seoul for "denouncing the collusion behind the closed doors, defending democratic unions and forcing the regime step down".

Participants in the rally accused the south Korean Ministry of Labor, the Federation of south Korean Trade Unions and the "General Association of Korean Businessmen" of "agreeing" on Dec. 4 on the "amendment to the Law on Trade Unions" the keynote of which calls for banning the payment of wages to full-time officials of trade unions, etc.

They charged that their collusion was aimed to trample down upon the rights of workers and block the activities of trade unions.

They declared trade unions in various fields under the KCTU would launch anti- "government" actions one after another with the rally as a prelude.

They also stated that they would simultaneously hold mass rallies across south Korea on Dec. 19, in particular, in an effort to escalate their actions.

The regional headquarters of the KCTU in different areas such as Taegu, Pusan and Ulsan launched sit-in strikes in protest against the authorities' moves to crack down upon the labor movement on the same day.