Right after the Dec. 3 martial law, Chairperson Lee Hae-jun and other leaders of the Korean Government Employees' Union, who held a rally calling for the resignation of former President Yoon Suk-yeol and were reported on suspicion of violating the State Public Officials Act, were cleared of charges.
According to Yonhap News on the 1st, the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul on the 19th of last month decided not to refer to prosecutors all eight leaders of the Korean Government Employees' Union, including the chairperson, in the case on suspicion of violating the State Public Officials Act.
Earlier, the government employees' union held a national crisis rally and a resolution rally near the National Assembly and Euljiro 1-ga Station calling for the resignation of the former president following the declaration of martial law.
In response, a civic group reported the chairperson and eight leaders to police, saying they violated the State Public Officials Act. It said the two rounds of a national crisis rally and a resolution rally held to influence the National Assembly's impeachment vote on President Yoon Suk-yeol constituted "a ban on collective political action by public officials" and "collective action on matters beyond official duties."
However, police were said to have determined that their actions could not be conclusively deemed outside the scope of official duties.
In June last year, the government employees' union also issued a statement saying, "It is a duty that government officials of the Republic of Korea must naturally fulfill to condemn and resist illegal insurrection."