EU sends ultimatum to Korea to ratify ILO conventions
Korea's Labor Minister Lee Jae-gap shakes hands with EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom during a meeting at the Lotte Hotel Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
By Kim Hyun-bin
The European Union (EU) has unofficially set a summer deadline for Korea to ratify some key conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO), putting major pressure on Seoul as businesses and politicians fail to reach a consensus on them.
If Korea fails to ratify them, which was agreed to in the Korea-EU free trade agreement (FTA), the country's reputation and credibility in future trade could be seriously damaged.
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom visited Korea and met government and parliamentary officials to call for rapid ratification of the conventions, which are designed to guarantee wider freedom of association and the elimination of all forms of forced labor.
Under the FTA, the two sides have to make efforts to ratify the fundamental ILO conventions to protect basic labor rights. As Korea is not fulfilling half of the eight key conventions, mainly due to opposition from businesses, the EU has pressed Seoul to do so, launching a dispute settlement process in December.
It earlier requested the government to solve the problem by April 9 and after this, it will begin the second stage of the settlement process ― initiating an expert panel to review the issue and come up with recommendations.
But Malmstrom implied the EU may not seek the expert panel immediately. In a meeting with Rep. Kim Hack-yong, the head of the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee, Tuesday, she asked him if Korea could ratify the ILO conventions by this summer.
On June 10, President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech at the general meeting of the ILO which is marking its 100th anniversary.
“It will be great if the provisions can be fulfilled before summer. However, there are some specific situations in Korea and domestic laws need to be revised first. So it is difficult to pinpoint a time,” Rep. Kim said.
Malmstrom said the EU has never forced its standards on any country, but added that all countries ratifying the key conventions have seen stronger competitiveness among their companies and gained better international reputations, according to Kim's aides.
The commissioner also delivered the message to Employment and Labor Minister Lee Jae-kap during a meeting earlier in the day.
According to the ministry, if Korea is unable to fulfill the provisions, it will be difficult to avoid the EU's dispute resolution expert panel from reviewing the country's compliance with the FTA.
If the expert panel is convened, Korea will be the first country among those with FTAs with the EU to be involved in a labor rights dispute, which will be a blow to the country's reputation and President Moon's ILO speech, according to the ministry.
Experts also say that while failing to ratify the ILO conventions will not automatically lead to increased tariffs and penalties, it could act as a barrier when expanding trade between the two sides.
“We will be the first case to violate labor provisions in the history of any FTA, so it is hard to predict what sanctions will be put in place,” Lee Sung-wook, a professor of law at Ewha Women's University Law School, said.
However, he said there would be sanctions in some form. “Otherwise the agreement on the ratification wouldn't have been included in the FTA from the beginning and the EU wouldn't have included the dispute settlement process. There will be some kind of disadvantages for any violations.”
An EU delegation led by Malmstrom was in Seoul for the 8th Trade Committee meeting to discuss various topics.
She emphasized that ratifying the conventions would enhance competitiveness for local businesses, and called on the government to step up efforts to resolve the matter.
“We want to avoid a trade dispute. It's not about sanctions, but about Korea as an ILO and OECD member showing that it lives up to international conventions,” she said in a press briefing later Tuesday.
Korea joined the U.N. agency on labor in 1991 but hasn't ratified four key conventions, which include the right of individuals to organize a group to represent them and to defend their labor rights.
However, the Korean Labor Law forbids certain workers such as civil servants and dismissed officials from joining a union and prior government approval is required in setting one up.
The ratification can only be accomplished through amending related laws at the National Assembly.
“Under the country's Constitution, the National Assembly has the full right and is obligated to approve or disapprove the provisions,” Lee said. “However, if labor and management can come to a consensus on the issue, there is no reason for the Assembly not to push forward the ratifications before summer.”