Anchor: The state spy agency and police raided one of South Korea’s largest umbrella labor unions on Wednesday on suspicions that some of its members violated the national security law.
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: A standoff on Wednesday morning pitted the nation's top intel agency and national police against an umbrella union as the agencies sought to raid the group's headquarters over allegations of national security law violations.

From 9:10 a.m., the National Intelligence Service(NIS) and the National Police Agency(NPA) spent nearly three hours attempting to access the headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU) in central Seoul before finally gaining access.

While the investigators arrived with a court-issued warrant on charges of violating the national security law, the labor group demanded that the search and seizure be conducted with its lawyers present, resulting in a scuffle.

The KCTU spokesperson accused investigators of forcibly executing the search warrant.

The NIS and the national police also raided the headquarters of the KCTU-affiliated Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union in southwestern Seoul as well as the residences of former executives of other KCTU-affiliated unions in South Jeolla Province.

According to the NIS, the raids follow a yearslong internal investigation into suspects alleged to have engaged in underground activities related to North Korea.

The investigation reportedly includes alleged National Security Act violations by some progressive labor figures in Jeju Island and Changwon.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.