Rainsy to Meet Cambodian Workers in South Korea

BY MECH DARA AND ALICE CUDDY | the cambodia daily, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Opposition CNRP leader Sam Rainsy is to meet with Cambodian migrant workers during a two-day trip to South Korea later this week, at the end of a European tour that has included stops in Geneva, Brussels and Paris.

“He will be visiting [South] Korea to meet with Cambodian workers following the workers’ request,” CNRP spokesman and lawmaker-elect Yim Sovann said.

“He will spend about three days there and talk with workers about the current political situation and the CNRP’s solution to [the political impasse],” he added.

Mr. Rainsy’s latest visit follows a protest last month that saw hundreds of Cambodians living in South Korea demonstrate outside of Seoul’s City Hall demanding justice for the five garment workers who were killed during clashes with police on January 3, and calling for Prime Minister Hun Sen to step down.

The protest was the largest of a number of gatherings and vigils held around the world in the wake of January’s shooting of garment workers.

Mr. Rainsy posted photos to Facebook on Sunday of his last trip to South Korea, in June 2013, when he was welcomed by about 5,000 Cambodian workers, with the message, “I look forward to meeting again (for the second time) with Khmer fellow compatriots living in Korea.”

South Korea is a primary destination for Cambodian migrant workers, particularly those specializing in manufacturing, construction and agriculture.

Cambodian nationals are the fourth biggest migrant worker population in the East Asian country, according to the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training.