NIS RAIDS LABOR UNION’S OFFICE

[Anchor Lead]

With tensions escalating between the government and labor circle over the labor union's disclosure of their accounting books, the National Intelligence Service raided offices of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' Gyeongnam Headquarters. The NIS said they're investigating two senior officials of the labor union for allegedly working against the government as members of a pro-North Korea organization. The labor circle immediately protested the move saying that the government is now trying to frame labor unions as a left-leaning criminal organization, calling it a clear case of labor oppression.

[Pkg]

Police officers are lined up in front of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' Gyeongnam Headquarters. National Intelligence Service officials search the belongings of KCTU members. It was around 8:20 a.m. Thursday when the NIS began to raid the KCTU office for violating the National Security Act. The search and seizure operation lasted almost four hours before ending at around noon. The operation was carried out on the executives belonging to the Gyeongnam chapter of the Korean Metal Workers' Union and two officials of the shipbuilding contractors' union which led the strike of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering contract workers for 51 days last year. The NIS is reportedly investigating these union officials for allegedly working against the government as members of a pro-North Korea organization.

[Soundbite] (Nat’l Intelligence Service Official) : "We raided them for violating Nat’l Security Act. (Are they accused of the same as the Changwon spy ring?) I cannot comment on that."

The labor sector is protesting vehemently.

[Soundbite] "Yoon Suk Yeol, stop framing us as spies!"

According to labor activists, the government, which had condemned the labor sector as a financially corrupt group, is now trying to frame it as a left-leaning criminal organization. They claim the raid of the offices of chapter officials who had led last year's DSME subcontractors' strike is a clear case of labor oppression.

[Soundbite] Jo Hyeong-rae(KCTU Gyeongnam Regional HQs) : "We are being attacked but the KCTU will not ignore this situation. We, the workers, will stop this together."

Meanwhile, a scuffle ensued when an NIS employee pretending to be a reporter was discovered while secretly photographing the KCTU press conference held during the raid.