It is the first general strike for a year and six months since the militant union umbrella protested against the conclusion of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement in December 2006. The KCTU designated July a "month of total struggle, including general strike." In a press release, the KCTU said it was calling a general strike “considering that health is a prerequisite to working conditions, because workers will lose their power to work if they contract mad cow disease (from eating U.S. beef) and lose their health."

Lee Suk-haing (center) and two other leaders of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions hold a press conference at KCTU headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday to announce that the organization will not only stage a general strike on July 2 but also fight for the workers' rights throughout July. /Yonhap

According to the KCTU, a vote was conducted among 271,322, or 53 percent, of its registered 511,737 members, with 169,138, or 70.3 percent, of the participating members supporting the strike. But this amounts to less than 40 percent of all registered KCTU members, which according to the labor law means the general strike was voted down.

In a separate vote on Monday by the Hyundai Motor union, a key constituent of the KCTU, members rejected the KCTU-led strike, with only 48.5 percent in favor. Despite strong opposition among its members, the Hyundai union leadership nonetheless decided to support the strike.

Hyundai workers on the union website called for a clean break with the KCTU and its affiliated trade unions. “We should never be manipulated by their logic for political strikes,” one member wrote. “We are going to speak out against political strikes and won't hesitate to replace the union chairman if the leadership pushes for the strike."

(englishnews@chosun.com )