Now Is the Time to Root out Political and Illegal Strikes

The ongoing general strikes of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) are to defeat the government by holding hostage the national economy on the precipice.

The leftist KCTU is threatening to mobilize 450,000 unionized workers until the end of this year. 104,000 public transportation workers launched their strike on Nov. 24 together with 25,000 cargo transport workers. On Nov. 25, 200,000 non-regular workers in the public sector and 90,000 non-regular school workers did so. 10,000 Seoul Metro workers’ general strike is scheduled for Nov. 30 and 21,000 railroad workers will follow on Dec. 2.

In particular, the demands of transportation workers who try to paralyze the national logistics include making their minimum rate guarantee permanent and expanding the guarantee to cover more transport items and vehicle types. The ongoing strikes are characterized by having region-specific targets. For example, they are targeting cement transport in Gangwon Province, shipbuilding in Gyeongnam Province, and container transport in Busan City. Their idea is to choose and concentrate to make their strikes more lethal.

In short, war has begun between the Yoon Suk-yeol government and the KCTU, and the labor reform promised by the president would never be done if the government surrendered. Before his election, the president said early this year that he would take measures so that trade unions stick to their original purpose within the framework of law. However, the president who took office in May experienced frustration in just one month. The same cargo transport workers’ eight-day strike and threat led to the three years’ extension of the minimum rate guarantee scheduled to expire this year.

This time, the government opted to confront. The president presided over a Cabinet meeting on Nov. 29 and told the workers on strike to go back to work by the end of the month. According to the government, non-compliance may lead to license suspension or revocation and criminal punishment such as up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won. After the work resumption order, the workers staged rallies in 16 regions across the country. They are considering bringing the order to the court, too.

Doing business in South Korea is not easy for various reasons, including anti-corporate sentiments, excessive regulations, relatively higher corporate tax rates, and the militant labor unions represented by the KCTU that has acted like an extrajudicial being and become one of the most powerful groups in the society particularly during the previous Moon Jae-in administration. The current administration’s top-priority tasks include labor reform and how it responds this time will determine the fate of the reform. The government needs to keep in mind that the interest of the KCTU cannot come before that of the general public, and now is the time to root out the political and illegal strikes initiated by the KCTU and accomplish the labor reform for the future.