Strike Leaders Leave Tent Headquarters

South Korean strike leaders abandoned tent headquarters at Seoul’s Myongdong Cathedral as the government and the opposition groped toward a compromise over a controversial new labor law. With little fanfare, leaders of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions left behind the ramshackle tent from which they directed almost a month of work stoppages. But leader Kwon Young Gil insisted that his outlawed union will continue its fight against the law. The main opposition, National Congress for New Politics, softened its stand and said it was now prepared to debate the new law in parliament if the government apologized for its forced passage in a secret early-morning session. The party had previously said that it would hold a dialogue with the government only if the legislation were first revoked.