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| Then Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha speaks in a meeting with correspondents at the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., in this Nov. 10, 2020 photo. Yonhap |
By Bahk Eun-ji
One of the nation's two largest umbrella labor unions has voiced its disapproval of a former Korean foreign minister who is running for the top post of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
The stance of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) is expected to sway the prospects of former Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha in the election slated for March 25 of next year.
The KCTU said, Tuesday, it recently sent a letter to Catelene Passchier, the chair of the Workers' Group in the ILO, and Sharan Burrow, secretary general of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), saying it does not support Kang's bid for the ILO director-general post.
It said an ILO chief should guarantee the rights and safety of workers, but Kang does not qualify for the position because she lacks experience in that regard.
"The ILO director-general needs the capability to lead its action in order to realize the universal labor guarantee for all workers, recognition of workplace health and safety as fundamental rights and universal social protection, and a candidate must have wide experience in the world of work and labor relations," the KCTU said in a letter.
The KCTU also mentioned a meeting between Kang and the KCTU President Yang Kyeung-soo, on Dec. 15, where Kang asked for the group's support for her bid.
In the meeting, Yang said the ILO head's role includes setting international labor standards and promoting their implementation, and as such the person needs to be more than a moderator between workers and employers, but a facilitator with a concrete vision and direction.
"In order to set the right direction, the director-general post should be taken by a person who has wide experience in the area and a good understanding of labor relations," Yang told Kang at the time, according to the group.
During the meeting, Kang said her bid is an opportunity for Korea. "I think I have the leadership and capabilities that the ILO needs because I have been working on human rights at the United Nations for a long time," she was quoted as saying by the group.
Kang had worked at international organizations before being named foreign minister in 2017, but does not have any relevant experience in labor-related issues.
The KCTU said apart from Kang's own qualifications, it cannot support her because she was a foreign minister under President Moon Jae-in and the group has been opposing the Moon administration's labor policies.
"As Kang is a candidate supported by the Moon government, rather than an individual's bid, we cannot separate Kang from the Moon administration's labor-related policies," KCTU spokesman Han Sang-jin told The Korea Times.
"We are not giving generous marks to the government's labor policies. Therefore, we gave notice of our position that we could not support her bid," Han said.
It remains to be seen how the KCTU letter will affect the vote for the ILO head. The ILO Workers' Group and the ITUC apparently wield significant influence over the vote.
The election is carried out with 56 votes, including 28 directors from a government group, 14 directors from a workers' group, and 14 directors from an employers' group.
Besides Kang, four other candidates from South Africa, Togo, France and Australia are also in the running for the position.
If Kang is elected, she will become Asia's first female ILO director-general. The government has organized an election support taskforce under the Ministry of Employment and Labor to provide support.
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