An arrest warrant for Go Jin-su, head of the Sejong Hotel branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) Service Federation, who was arrested by police while staging a sit-in demanding the reinstatement of Sejong Hotel's fired workers, was dismissed.
Nam Se-jin, a warrant-judgeing Director General at the Seoul Central District Court, after holding a substantial review of the arrest warrant for Go on the 4th, said the dismissal was because "the suspect admits to the charges and pledges not to repeat the same offense, and most of the evidence appears to have been secured," adding, "considering the fixed residence and family ties, the suspect's position and related circumstances, and the demeanor during questioning, it is hard to see a risk of flight or destruction of evidence."
Police on the 2nd arrested 12 people, including two union members of the Tourism and Leisure Industry Union's Sejong Hotel branch and 10 supporting citizens, on charges of obstruction of business and refusal to leave at Sejong Hotel in Jung-gu. On the 3rd, police sought an arrest warrant only for Go among them. The remaining 11 were all released.
Earlier, in Dec. 2021, Sejong Hotel notified union members of layoffs and wage givebacks, citing management difficulties caused by COVID-19. Go, one of the layoff targets, climbed a structure in front of Sejong Hotel on Feb. 13 last year to demand the withdrawal of the layoffs and held a high-altitude sit-in for 336 days.