By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Public servants decided to hold a no-confidence vote against President Lee Myung-bak this month, denouncing his recent administration policies including those regarding American beef imports and the revision on their pension. The administration vowed to take legal action against the move but the officials remained undaunted in their willingness to judge their chief.
The Korean Government Employees' Union said Tuesday that it will hold the vote after a majority of its 48,000 members agreed. The result of the vote has no legal binding force, but since their boss is the President, it could seriously affect Lee's image as a leader, observers said.
According to the group's previous survey on 7,398 members, 45.3 percent said Lee was doing a very bad job, 35.5 percent said he was doing fairly bad, while less than one percent said he was doing a good job. The members also turned sour on his policies.
On the question of whether they support the U.S. beef imports, 92.2 percent said ``no'' while only 2.9 percent said ``yes.'' A majority supported to the union's decision to refuse promoting the U.S. beef.
The Ministry of Public Administration and Security said the union's moves are against the public servants' duty to be decent, dedicated and not political.
``Most of the civil servants are working hard dealing with soaring oil prices and living costs. Should the union keep on with the action, we will file lawsuits,'' a ministry official said. ``Public service is all about discipline but they must have forgotten about that,'' he added.
The government employee's union consists of lower-grade officials from grade 10 to six. It was formed in 2002, but turned legal only in 2004 after the National Assembly passed a bill allowing them to form a union.
However, the government was under fire for allegedly suppressing union activity in 2006.