DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS IN SOUTH KOREA

Early day motion 430, tabled 13 January 2009 by George Galloway (Respect). Signed by 30 members.

That this House is concerned that the South Korean authorities have arrested leading figures in the Candlelight movement, which is protesting over the risk of BSE from imported US beef; notes that in addition to the arrest of Lee Seok-haeng of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the house of the only Candlelight movement leader to escape arrest, Kim Kwang-il, has been illegally searched, and his telephone records used to harass other activists; further notes that Amnesty International has voiced concern at these actions and is investigating; believes that South Korea took a huge step forward with the end of the decades of military rule in 1988; strongly condemns this new 1980s-style repression; and calls on the South Korean authorities to respect the right to freedom of assembly and expression.

Signatures by party: Labour 19, Liberal Democrat 5, Independent 2, Plaid Cymru 1, Respect 1, Scottish National Party 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1.