Emergency Body Made to Overcome Crisis
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Amid mounting concern over dismal economy prospects, South Korea's three major economic entities ㅡ government, labor and consumers ㅡ established a joint consultative body Tuesday to seek ways to overcome the ongoing recession at a launching ceremony at the Economic and Social Development Commission in Yeouido, southwestern Seoul.
Key figures in the fields of NGOs, religion and academia are also expected to participate in the emergency unit.
The organization, established on a joint suggestion from the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korea Employers Federation, will come up with a comprehensive package of measures based on participants' mutual agreement by the end of February.
``The recession is likely to deepen for a while. To overcome this, we decided to sacrifice our individual interests and team up, in a broad sense, to revive the sagging economy,'' the joint body said in a statement. ``We expect this unit to help integrate our divided society and play a pivotal role in overcoming the economic crisis.''
Its tasks will include looking for ways to create more jobs, enhancing the social welfare system, especially for those who lost their jobs and are in financial hardship in the aftermath of the slumping economy, and encouraging civilians to voluntarily participate in nationwide campaigns aimed at revitalizing the economy.
Members will have five or six meetings this month and produce a final statement by the end of next month after listening to participants.
But the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the nation's two biggest umbrella labor groups, refused to take part in the body, claiming that ``the institute will apparently serve as a rubber stamp for government-driven policies, ignoring voices from the labor circles.''
In a separate press conference, the KCTU criticized the government for putting temporary workers on edge by revising labor laws and seeking conglomerate-friendly policies.