Labor forces eager to affect candidate selection

By Park Si-soo

Two trump cards are held in one hand. But their holder is gripped with anxiety, rather than happiness. That’s the situation facing the largest opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) with a key election only one month away.

The DUP has an incumbent leader of the country’s largest trade union, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), as a decision-making Supreme Council member. A former but still powerful leader of the second largest umbrella union group, the Korean Confederation of Trade Union (KCTU), recently joined the center-left DUP.

Each of the two unions has hundreds of thousands of members, which means the two leaders’ presence will surely help increase the DUP’s chances of defeating the governing Saenuri Party in the April 11 National Assembly elections.

The upcoming vote is crucial for both parties since its results will shape the overall political landscape leading toward the Dec. 19 presidential poll.

However, the DUP appears to have little room to enjoy this “favorable” situation. Instead it is eagerly seeking measures to tame the leaders who are issuing tough demands that will be hard to materialize in reality.

The urgency to come up with proper measures was felt when Lee Yong-deuk, the incumbent FKTU leader and DUP Supreme Council member, openly vented his frustration over candidate selection and threatened to leave the party in a press briefing Sunday.

“The DUP’s sprit of integration has been diluted,” Lee said in the briefing at the National Assembly in Seoul. “If the party continues to do the work (of selecting candidates) through behind-the-scene deals, I will make an important decision after discussions with my colleagues.”

He didn’t say what the “important decision” means, but analysts say it indicates defection from the DUP.

The FKTU leader, who joined the party in November last year after cutting ties with the then ruling Grand National Party (now Saenuri Party), has demanded party leaders, including Chairwoman Han Myeong-sook, give him the final say in selecting candidates for six constituencies in major industrial cities.

He has also called on the party to guarantee at least two proportional representation parliamentary seats for the union.

The DUP’s candidate selection is underway, but insiders say his demand, amid fierce competition among contenders, is all but impossible to realize. In fact, no labor activist was on the party’s fourth list of 52 candidates issued Monday.

Meanwhile, Lee Suk-hang, a former president of the country’s second largest trade union, the KCTU, joined the opposition party on Monday with some 1,000 labor activists.

Among the newcomers are former leaders of unions at the country’s major conglomerates, including Hyundai Motor, Kia Motor, Asiana Airlines and Hanjin Heavy Industries.

“I made the decision (of joining the DUP) will help create more jobs and better working conditions,” Lee said. “I believe the country should be reshaped in a way that enhances the value of workers. I believe the DUP can make this happen.”

The former KCTU leader has not yet unveiled what he wants from the party. But many insiders and analysts believe that what he will eventually ask for will be the same ㅡ parliamentary seats.