While President-elect Park Geun-hye and the Saenuri Party are celebrating their election victory, despairing workers are falling, literally, one by one.
Two unionized workers and one civic activist have taken their own lives since the Dec. 19 presidential election, leaving notes filled with desperation about “five more years” of labor repression.
President-elect Park might feel disappointed, even displeased, with what she sees as their unduly hasty surrendering of hope even before the next leader has the chance to turn her promises into reality. If so, she must act ― quickly ― to show that she is different from the incumbent president.
During campaigns, Park pledged she would make it hard for employers to dismiss workers, and declare those workplaces where massive layoffs are inevitable as “employment disaster zones.”Her idea, albeit too abstract and somewhat smacking of word play, seems laudable, except it talks mostly about future situations, not existing problems.
Park is also interested in the labor movement of the past. Befitting for a candidate whose slogan was “grand national unity,” she tried to visit the foundation in memory of Chun Tae-il ― who burned himself to death in 1970 in protest against former President Park Chung-hee’s oppression of workers and became the symbol of Korea’s union movement ― only to be repudiated by foundation officials.
Instead, she was told by Chun’s bereaved family members to first visit the altar memorializing 23 former employees of Ssangyong Motor who have killed themselves or died of diseases after being laid off a few years ago. All this shows Park’s sympathy with struggling workers should focus not on the past or future but on the present ― right here and now. It was only during the later phase of campaigns that Park and her Party dropped their opposition to holding parliamentary probes into the case.
The president-elect vows to enact a law on “in-house subcontracting,” an indirect form of employment through manpower suppliers to save various costs for regular hiring. But the proposed law might end up as only legalizing the abnormal labor practices, as the law on non-regular workers aimed to protect temps and part-timers has led to a sharp increase in their number amid little improvement of their status and treatment by employers. As always, nothing really changes without fundamental approaches.
And one such basic remedy is for Park to accept a request from workers to revise the Labor Standard Act in ways to make it next to impossible for business owners to unilaterally fire workers for reasons of managerial difficulties.
We know Park should be very busy organizing a transition team and planning for a state administration over the next five years. But nothing can be more urgent than stopping the parade of worker’s suicides. A leader elected on the pledge of “100-percent Korea” and a nation in which “each and every citizen can be happy” can never put the plight of more than half of all workers on the back burner.
The least she can do now is to send a message of reassurance for the desolated workers. Make a call to the two former Ssangyong workers who have been protesting on a 50-meter-high steel tower for more than two months.
This is The Korea Times editorial for Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012.
1. All the suspects in question have been taken into __________ after the police discovered hard evidence of their involvement in this murder case.
(A) testimony
(B) custody
(C) trial
(D) prosecution
2. The __________ governor of this state is likely to be voted out of office in the next term because he is considered by many people to be incompetent and corrupt.
(A) incumbent
(B) high
(C) empowered
(D) voted
3. The extent of the harmful effect of the layoff depends on the circumstances _____________ other companies are also involved.
(A) in where
(B) on which
(C) in which
(D) when
4. The delivery of the order we (A) made two weeks ago should be made no later (B) as the 30th of this month because we ourselves have to send (C) them to our subcontract factory in southeast Asia (D) by due date.
[해설 및 정답]
1. [해설] 문맥상 '구금하다(take into custody)' 표현이 어울린다. take into consideration(고려하다)도 공인 영어시험에서 출제된 바 있는 표현이다.
[번역] 이번 살인사건에 그들이 관련되었다는 확증을 발견한 경찰은 혐의를 받고 있는 용의자들을 모두 구금했다.
[어휘] testimony 증언 / custody 구금 / be subject to prosecution 기소를 받다 / trial 공판
[정답] (B)
2. [해설] incumbent에는 ‘현직의’ 라는 뜻이 있다. 이외에도 의무로 지워지는 책임의 라는 뜻도 같이 있음을 알아두자. ex) It is incumbent upon A to do B: B를 하는 것이 A의 의무이다
[번역] 많은 사람들이 이 주의 주지사가 무능하고 부정하다고 생각하기 때문에 다음 임기에는 선거를 통해 쫓겨날 것 같다.
[어휘] empower 권한을 부여하다
[정답] (A)
3. [해설] 장소를 나타내는 circumstance가 선행사이다. 빈칸 이하 관계대명사절 속의 동사가 be involved in(~에 관련되다, 연루되다) 형태로 쓰여야 하므로가 필요하다.
[번역] 그 일시 해고가 끼칠 악 영향의 정도는 다른 회사들이 연루되어 있는 상황에 따라 다르다.
[어휘] extent 정도 / harmful 해로운 / layoff 일시 해고 / circumstance 주변 상황 / be involved in ~에 연루되다
[정답] (C)
4. [해설] no later than은 ~까지라는 뜻으로 비교급 표현의 일종이다.
[번역] 우리가 두 주 전에 한 주문의 배송은 우리도 동남아에 있는 하청 공장에 그것들을 시간에 맞추어 보내주어야 하기 때문에 이달 30일까지 반드시 이루어져야 합니다.
[정답] (B) (as → than)