KHMU INFO<10> August 5, 2014
The KHMU Staged the second round of strike from
July 22to 26.
As many as 600,000
citizens joined the online signature campaign on July 22 alone,
demonstrating unprecedented support to this anti-privatization campaigns
○
The public also showed overwhelming support for the second round of strikes and
all-out protests against the government’s healthcare privatization plan,
which the KHMU President Yoo Ji-hyun had led for five days: from July 22
to 26.
○
The unionist protesters held an evening cultural event and slept at the side of
the Han river. On July 23rd, around 3,000 union members staged a protest before
the offices of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Planning
and Strategy. From July 24th onward, the union continued to protest before the
National Assembly and at the Seoul Railway Station Square.
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The KHMU strike is particularly meaningful because it is an industrial action
for a political cause to stop healthcare privatization and was joined by the
greatest number of unionists since 2004.
○
Popular support for the KHMU strike was explosive. And the search term
"healthcare privatization" ranked 1st in hits in
many Internet portal sites. Such intense attention to this
issue continued with the anti-healthcare privatization signature
campaign.
○
Since February this year, the KHMU collected a total of 650,000
offline signatures from the One Million Signature Campaign against
Healthcare Privatization. But, on July 22nd alone, as many as
600,000 citizens joined in the campaign on the Internet, the total number
both online and offline reaching two million at the end of July.
○
A posting on revised enforcement rules of medical law on the website of the
Ministry of Health and Welfare was read 880,000 times and 600,000 times after
the amendments were posted. The number of hits averages 400 to 2,500, but for
this issue, the hit rate recorded the highest ever, paralyzing the web server.
○
A poll revealed that 88% of respondents opposed healthcare privatization plans
that the government is currently pursuing, which is 18% higher than the
June survey conducted by the KHMU.
○
Nonetheless, the government is determined to enforce the privatization plans in
the healthcare sector. Hence, to respond to the government's moves, the KHMU
plans to develop the third round of general rallies from the end of August
to early September.
To find more information, go to the KHMU’s
website
☞ http://bogun.nodong.org/english/
☞ KBS News http://youtu.be/C9EhxwX9t_M
☞ KHMU News http://youtu.be/nFuTnqP-zRc