Lee Chae-pil, who served as labour minister from 2011 to 2013, was accused in July 2018 of involvement in the National Intelligence Service’s (NIS) scheme to establish a third labour umbrella group in 2011 to counter the traditional – and very active – national trade union centres, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU).
Prosecutors requested an arrest warrant for Lee on charges of causing losses to state funds after investigations showed that he had provided the new “union” with NIS funds. Their request was refused on 4 July by the Seoul Central District Court on the grounds of “insufficient explanation” as to why his actions constituted a crime.
Prosecutor’s found the reason difficult to accept, as it had been “proven that former minister Lee was actively involved from the initial stage (of the NIS’ anti-union scheme) and demanded the NIS to provide the funds, that the NIS illegally paid money to Lee’s junior staff who used it to support the new union”.
