A major collision was averted Wednesday, as the police temporarily delayed their operation to arrest the head of the nation’s second-largest umbrella labor union taking sanctuary at a Buddhist temple to evade arrest on charges of leading illegal rallies.

Police were on standby to force their way into the Jogyesa Buddhist Temple in central Seoul at around 4 p.m. to arrest Han Sang-kyun, the head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, on charges of leading a series of what they labeled as illegal and violent protests this year. 

But police halted the operation at around 6 p.m. in response to Buddhist monks’ renewed calls for a peaceful resolution to the issue. 

As tensions intensified around Jogyesa temple, Buddhist monk Jaseung on behalf of the Jogye Order made a statement in a press briefing at 5 p.m., calling on both the police and the KCTU to end their standoff.

Resisting the police’s call for questioning, Han has been seeking sanctuary in the temple following a mass antigovernment rally on Nov. 14 opposing the government’s push for labor market reforms. Police have surrounded the temple to prevent him from fleeing. 

Police stationed nearly 1,000 officers inside and outside the temple and cleared the way leading to the room in which Han has been taking refuge by pushing away monks and temple officials who have stood at the entrance to bar the officers from storming into the building. 

Only Buddhist monks, temple officials and journalists were allowed near the building Han was in to prevent clashes. 

At the height of the standoff, monks were praying and temple officials held up placards reading “Let’s solve the problem peacefully” and “Opposition to the police force in the temple,” wishing for a peaceful resolution to the issue.

Kang Sin-myeong, the chief of the National Police Agency, threatened to raid the temple to execute an overdue arrest warrant unless Han came out of the temple voluntarily by 4 p.m. 

As the scheduled police raid neared in the afternoon, tensions escalated as several civic groups and lawmakers made their way to the temple to voice their opinions on the police arresting Han. 

“We want to ask whether the forcible execution of an arrest warrant complies with democratic values and the rule of law at this critical moment of wrangling over the labor market reform bills that can have a huge impact on laborers’ lives continues,” Jo Young-sun, a secretary general of Lawyers for a Democratic Society said, asking the temple to continue to provide Han with protection. 

On the other side of the road, a conservative civic group comprised of some 100 elderly people held a demonstration to lambast the Jogye Order for hiding Han in the temple. 

“The government should sternly punish North Korea sympathizers trying to topple our nation and undermine the rule of law,” the elderly group said, holding up placards reading “Immediately arrest Han Sang-kyun, who lead the violent protest.” Conservatives have often likened ultraprogressives with North Korea supporters.

Buddhist followers, mostly in their 50s to 80s, gathered outside the temple at around 3 p.m. to condemn the union chief for hiding in the religious venue and undermining the rule of law. 

“Why have the police failed to arrest him until now? What did they do? Kick him out!” an elderly women told people around her. Others nodded along to her remarks, with some men bluntly shouting in the air, “Come out immediately!” 

Earlier on Tuesday, Buddhist monks warned that a police raid on the temple would be no different from religious persecution and a crackdown on Korean Buddhism as a whole. The monks have also urged the labor union head to make a “swift decision” to end the vicious cycle of violence.
 
“The Jogye Order has strived to solve the issue through conversation, asking the police delay arresting him as we believe that the execution of the arrest warrant doesn’t solve the conflicts, but would only lead to another conflict,” the monk Jaseung told reporters Wednesday. “We will decide what to do about his stay here by noon tomorrow.” 

Considering the temple’s request, the police decided to delay arresting him until Thursday at noon. 

“We planned to execute the arrest warrant, but will delay it to tomorrow afternoon, considering the Buddhist monk Jaseung’s request,” the police said. “But if Han does not voluntarily appear by tomorrow noon, we will sternly execute the court-issued warrant.”

At Han’s request, the Jogye Order -- the nation’s largest Buddhist sect with several million followers -- has played a mediation role between the labor activist and the government since he took refuge there. 

Meanwhile, the labor union renewed its pledge for an all-out strike upon the police’s forcible arrest of its chief. 

“The trade unions under the KCTU will stage a strike at the earliest possible moment if the police forces their way into the temple to drag him out. We will step up our fight against the government crackdown and its attempt to reform the labor market,” Park Sung-sik, a spokesperson for the KCTU said in a statement. 

The Jogyesa temple has served as a shelter for political and student activists seeking refuge from police crackdowns in times of authoritarian rule, notably under the military-backed governments of the 1980s. 

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)