Before dawn on September 2, 2021, hundreds of police encircled the headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and pried open the door. Inside, they arrested Yang Kyung-soo, the president of the country’s largest umbrella organization of independent unions.

About three weeks ago, a local court issued an arrest warrant for Yang after prosecutors alleged that he violated COVID-19 social distancing requirements by organizing a rally in downtown Seoul. On July 3, about eight thousand KCTU members attended the rally, calling on the government to address inequality exacerbated by the pandemic.

Citing super-spreader concerns, the government refused to grant a permit for the rally, despite the KCTU’s repeatedly expressed commitment to the COVID protocol. The union members gathered anyway and carefully followed government guidelines for social distancing. After the rally, only three attendees tested positive for COVID, with little evidence tying their infections to the rally.