A unionist's death

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Opinion

Fri, December 1, 2023 | 05:49

Editorial

A unionist's death

Posted : 2023-05-03 17:58

Updated : 2023-05-03 17:58

Open path for coexistence with three-party dialogue

A unionized construction worker set fire to himself on Labor Day. He died the following day while receiving treatment at a hospital.

The laborer, 50, a ranking member of the Gangwon Province chapter of a nationwide construction workers' union, attempted self-immolation Monday. He did so hours before he was scheduled to attend a pretrial detention hearing in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, on charges of obstructing business.

Local prosecutors earlier requested arrest warrants for the unionist, identified only by his surname Yang, and two other union officials on suspicion of forcing the hiring of union members and extorting about 80 million won ($59,700) from construction companies between April 2022 and this past February.

"I engaged in legitimate union activities. It hurts my self-esteem that police investigate me for blackmail, not even violating labor laws," he said in a letter.

It is hard to believe a worker burned himself to death in Korea in 2023.

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) vowed to stage an all-out struggle. "The Yoon Suk Yeol's administration's crackdown on labor led to this death," the umbrella union said. We cannot help but hold the government accountable for causing this tragedy through probes like hare coursing instead of seeking a dialogue. It also shows the need for President Yoon to rethink his labor policy of the 1970s.

Labor has been one of Yoon's three reform targets since he took office a year ago. But the prosecutor-turned-president focused on the deviant behaviors of some labor aristocrats ― leaders of big business unions ― instead of looking at the broader picture and delving into structural problems. The conservative leader did so under the pretext of protecting "real workers." However, in a country with a unionization rate of 13 percent, nobody protects or cares about 87 percent of workers.

The first thing Yoon did for his labor reform was to thwart truckers' strikes. The chief executive blocked the collective legal action, saying it "destroyed other workers' freedom to work." Yoon's approval rating rose by rallying his conservative support base. He then tried to extend working hours from 52 to 69. But workers who suffer the most and die due to the extended workweek are nonunionized. The plan is drifting along as Millennials and Generation Z workers, whom Yoon had expected to support this flexible system, spurned it.

Yoon's labor policy is anachronistic at best and politicized at worst. Labor bashing pushes up his approval rating. Employers, managers, conservatives and many low-wage workers like to see their leader give unionists a hard time. But think about this; in a country with a per capita income of $35,000, a four-member family's breadwinner earning $75,000 yearly should not be considered too much.

Yoon may imagine himself as the Korean version of Ronald Reagan or Margaret Thatcher, fighting with striking airline pilots or miners. The era of neo-liberalism has already ended.

Now, most industrialized countries are reducing working hours as robots and artificial intelligence replace humans in physical and mental labor. The quality, not quantity, of work and workers' quality of life are their concerns. U.S. President Joe Biden, whom Yoon says is his friend, prides himself as the most pro-labor president in America's history. He gives subsidies to foreign chipmakers and demands they provide child care services for American employees.

German companies have a worker executive on their boards. Japan has long stuck to lifelong employment. No country can prosper without respecting workers and no government can succeed by antagonizing or demonizing unionists.

There are a few bad apples in any group. Picking them out is law enforcement officers' duty, not the chief executive's role. A national leader must grasp the global trend and know the call of the times. Yoon may be the first recent president who has not met a labor leader in their first year in office. He can start anew by inviting some unionists to meet with him.