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▲Post-arbitration talks at Samsung collapse… Ruling party: Not the fault of just one side vs. Opposition: Stop the rampage
On the 20th, the ruling Democratic Party urged sustained dialogue and compromise between labor and management, while the opposition People Power Party blamed the government’s pro-union stance for the crisis and demanded that the union call off the strike and that the government respond directly.
The Democratic Party’s Central Election Committee press team said in a written briefing that afternoon that dialogue and negotiation must continue even amid industrial disputes and expressed regret over the breakdown of post-arbitration between labor and management.
The party emphasized Samsung Electronics’ central role in South Korea’s semiconductor industry and national strategy, warning that a prolonged strike could disrupt production and place burdens on subcontractors and the global supply chain.
At the same time, the party said the crisis cannot be resolved by assigning blame to only one side. It called on relevant government ministries to work with lawmakers to find solutions and said it would promote public discussion on structural labor issues such as performance bonuses and wage systems.
By contrast, Park Seong-hoon, spokesperson for the People Power Party’s central campaign committee, issued a statement the same day demanding the union immediately withdraw the strike, calling it an irresponsible rampage that threatens the industrial heart of the Republic of Korea.
Park warned that a full-scale strike could cause up to 100 trillion KRW (approximately 75 billion USD) in direct and indirect losses—and criticized the union’s demands as the start of a distorted compensation model that could unsettle the manufacturing sector broadly.
He added that the Yellow Envelope Law, pushed through by the ruling party, and what he described as the Lee Jae-myung administration’s pro-union tilt have created structural contradictions that are squeezing businesses, and he called for a reversal of current policy direction.
Senior People Power Party figures also launched sustained criticism of President Lee Jae-myung and his administration.
Jang Dong-hyuk, standing co-chair of the campaign, wrote on Facebook that the crisis has reached this point because the government has acceded to union demands while squeezing companies, and he criticized the president for campaigning across the country instead of visiting Samsung’s Pyeongtaek site. “He should have gone there at least once,” Jang wrote.
“Even now, President Lee should do what a president must do,” he added.
▲Kim Geon-hee denies ‘Julie’ allegations: I never used the name ‘Jul’… my English name was ‘Jenny’
First lady Kim Geon-hee testified as a witness in the trial of Ahn Hae-uk, the former head of the Korea Elementary School Taekwondo Association, who is accused in connection with spreading the so-called “Julie” allegations, and said the claims are false.
According to court sources, the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 34 (presiding judge Han Seong-jin) held a hearing on the 20th in the case against Ahn and Jeong Cheon-su, former head of Deotamsa (formerly Open Sympathy TV), on charges including violations of the Public Official Election Act, and called Kim as a witness.
During questioning by prosecutors, when asked whether reports on the YouTube channel Open Sympathy TV alleging the so-called Julie scandal and cohabitation rumors were false, Kim answered, “Yes.” When asked whether witness statements claiming she worked at a nightlife venue in the past were also false, she again replied, “Yes.”
Asked whether she ever used the stage name Julie, she said she never did. She testified she did not know Ahn, had never heard his name, and denied ever working as an entertainer at the Ramada Renaissance Hotel basement venue in 1995.
Kim explained that at the time she was enrolled in Sookmyung Women’s University graduate school to obtain teaching credentials and attended classes both morning and evening.
“I was a student then, young, and not in a position to be frequenting hotels,” she said, adding that she was focused on studying to earn her teaching certificate.
In defense questioning, when asked whether she ever used the label “Julie writer,” Kim said she never used even the “Jul” part of “Julie.” She said she used the name “Jenny” on mini-homepages and in chat rooms.
“Everyone who knows me called me Jenny,” she added.
▲Aftershocks from Starbucks’ ‘May 18 Tank Day’ campaign… Civic group files complaint against Jeong Yong-jin
As controversy over Starbucks Korea’s “May 18 Tank Day” promotion continues, a civic group filed a police complaint against Jeong Yong-jin, chairman of Shinsegae Group, and Son Jeong-hyun, former CEO of Starbucks Korea.
The Committee for the People’s Livelihood announced on the 20th that it filed charges of insult and defamation against the two with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
The group criticized Starbucks Korea for running a tumbler discount promotion on May 18—the 46th anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju pro-democracy uprising—using the phrases “Tank Day” and “Thwack it on the desk!” in its marketing.
In its complaint, the committee said the wording evoked the deployment of martial-law tanks during the May 18 uprising and recalled the police statement “He slapped the desk and he died” from the 1987 death of Park Jong-chul, calling the promotion inappropriate. The group argued the campaign amounted to an insult and defamation of the May 18 victims, their families, the people of Gwangju, and the nation.
Starbucks Korea removed the offending content and issued an apology after criticism that the language recalled the abuses of Chun Doo-hwan’s military regime.
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