Veteran labor activist named as labor minister nominee

Labor Minister nominee Lee Jeong-sik / Yonhap

Labor Minister nominee Lee Jeong-sik is a veteran labor activist who previously served as secretary-general of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), one of Korea's two major umbrella unions.

The 61-year-old has spent more than 30 years as a labor expert since joining the FKTU in 1986 after graduating from Seoul National University.

He served as a policy adviser to the transportation minister from 2004 to 2006 under the liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration, went back to the FKTU and worked as the group's secretary-general between 2014 and 2017.

In May 2017, he became the chief of the Korea Labor and Employment Service.

In 2020, Lee was scouted as a consultant on labor issues for Samsung Electronics after the tech giant's first official union was formed under the FKTU in 2019.

Observers say Lee's appointment comes as a surprise as President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to push for pro-business policies, such as an amendment to the current 52-hour workweek system.

Yoon has criticized the system, which was established by the current government, claiming workers at some industries, such as startups, should be allowed to work up to 120 hours if they need to.

Lee said he will start working on urgent labor issues, such as youth unemployment, economic polarization and protection of workers deprived of labor rights, such as platform workers and freelancers. (Yonhap)