Teachers' union to regain legal status
By Kim Yoo-chul
The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) is expected to regain its legal status next year.
The previous Park Geun-hye administration outlawed the union in 2013, citing that it had nine laid-off teachers as members.
A presidential aide, however, said Cheong Wa Dae will reconsider the decision in line with suggestions from international organizations, including the International Labor Organization (ILO).
“The government submitted a revised plan to the National Assembly to legalize the KTU. Cheong Wa Dae is considering various options on the legal status of the KTU to comply with ILO standards,” presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told reporters, Thursday.
“This issue is nothing new as President Moon Jae-in vowed to legalize the KTU during his presidential campaign. But because this issue is very complicated, the presidential office will handle the matter thoroughly but carefully.”
The spokesman added, the presidential office is aligned with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the government to complete the revision process by June.
The ILO marks its 100th anniversary next year. Multiple commemorative events are planned for when its members meet in Geneva, Switzerland, in June next year. Cheong Wa Dae sources said working-level discussions with the ILO are underway for Moon to deliver a keynote address during the event.
The remarks came two days after a committee appointed by a presidential advisory body recommended that laid-off workers, the unemployed, and senior civil servants at public firms be allowed to join unions.
Basically, the recommendation would grant the right to almost all workers to join a union, which many believe is a controversial subject in South Korea. The core criteria that supports the recommendation is “ILO Convention No. 87,” which guarantees freedom of association and protection of the right to organize.
If the Assembly passes the revision, then the KTU would be legally considered a union.
In 1996, South Korea joined the OECD, promising that the country would guarantee the freedom of association and union activities for teachers and government employees.
Additionally, when South Korea separately joined the ILO back in 1991, it deferred certain labor conventions, which the ILO allowed. President Moon earlier said he would address the issue by improving regulations and relations between labor and business groups.