Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
President Yoon vows to combat 'corrupt' unions
President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during an emergency economy meeting at Yeongbingwan guest house in Jongno District, Seoul, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps
By Nam Hyun-woo
Yoon's reform drive prioritizes corrupt unions, corporate fraud and corruption in public office
By Nam Hyun-woo
President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Wednesday that corrupt unions, corporate fraud and corruption in public office are three major crimes he would tackle during his presidency, stressing he would respond to them with thorough measures.
“The nation has been focused on corruption in the public and private sectors, but corrupt unions standing in the way of improved industrial relations have begun to draw public attention,” Yoon said during an emergency economy meeting.
“Transparency in audits was the first and foremost step people have taken to prevent corporate fraud. After the Asian financial crisis, corporations have been grappling with the new measure but thanks to their ceaseless efforts, many of them have transformed into world-class corporations.”
He called for rules-based labor-management relations and labor market flexibility as the two core factors needed to make labor reform possible.
Since last week, Yoon has been stressing the need for labor reforms in his speeches at major events. On Tuesday, he stressed labor is the top priority among the government's reform tasks during his meeting with 200 younger Koreans.
On Nov. 15, Yoon reiterated his will to introduce labor reforms, saying “if we fail to reform labor, politics will fail and the economy will fail, too.”
Yoon's labor reform drive came after the government's hardline response to unionized truckers' strikes.
The truckers launched strikes twice this year ― in June and November ― dealing 5.8 trillion won ($4.5 billion) of losses to the country's economy, according to a Korea Economic Research Institute report.
The truckers staged strikes demanding a permanent guarantee of minimum freight rate, but the government refused to compromise on their strikes, with Yoon calling them “illegal.” Due to Yoon's hardline stance, the truckers ended their strike after 15 days.
“Setting the rules of law in labor-management relations is an inevitable task in order to seek growth and make a desirable country,” Yoon said. “To avoid ineffective labor disputes and use the costs for the welfare of workers, the rule of law should be consolidated in labor relations, and the country should set up guidelines to prevent unnecessary conflicts and labor actions.”
Ruling People Power Party interim leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk speaks during a forum hosted by a pro-Yoon lawmakers' study group at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
The ruling party is striving to back up Yoon's drive. People's Sympathy, the PPP's study group comprised of pro-Yoon lawmakers, held a forum on Wednesday on labor reforms and explored policy tools to revamp the country's labor market and labor relations.
“One of the most important tasks of the Yoon government is labor reform,” PPP interim leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk said during the forum. “Unless we address the country's labor market duality and the gap between permanent and temporary workers, Korea will not be able to regain its economic vitality.”
A day earlier, PPP floor leader Rep. Joo Ho-young called for transparency in unions' financial structures, citing the case of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of Korea's largest umbrella unions.
“The KCTU is assumed to have 1.13 million members and control more than 170 billion won in union dues every year,” Joo said. “It is a double standard for unions to demand companies have transparent financial structures while refusing to open their own accounting books.”
On Tuesday, PPP Rep. Ha Tae-keung tabled a bill forcing a union having more than 300 members to submit their accounting records to related administration. PPP Rep. Chung Woo-taik also tabled a bill on strengthening audits of unions' accounting books.
The KCTU said in a statement that the bill is “a prelude to deter any resistance against the Yoon government's retrogressive labor revisions.”