Dramatic Declaration
The labor union of LOTTE Chemical's Daesan Plant, one of the main business units of Korea's second-largest petrochemical company, has dramatically announced its withdrawal from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). This is the first case of a company union seeking to leave since the Yoon Suk-yeol administration initiated a corrective order against sector-specific union rules that prohibit collective withdrawal.
According to the labor sector on June 12, the LOTTE Chemical Daesan Branch of the Korean Chemical and Textile & Food Workers’ Federation (KCFWU), a sector-specific union under the KCTU, held a general meeting of union members on May 30. There, with an 80.25% majority vote, the union decided to withdraw from the KCTU and KCFWU. The LOTTE Chemical Union is split into two factions: the company-specific union of the largest plant in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, and the Daesan Branch that was part of the KCTU's KCFWU. The Daesan Branch represents around 420 professional technicians out of approximately 700 employees at the Daesan plant and is a single union.
Among the Daesan plant union members, dissatisfaction erupted with complaints stating, “The sector-specific union doesn't offer any help but takes a lot in union dues.” It was revealed that the Daesan Branch annually contributes about 70 million won (approximately US$62,000) to the KCFWU. There were not a few obstacles to overcome in order to leave the KCFWU. The sector-specific union's rules, which prohibited collective withdrawal, was the biggest hindrance. Article 44 of the KCFWU regulations stipulates that “collective withdrawal and changes in organizational form at the branch level cannot be made.” Unions like the POSCO branch (Metal Workers' Union) and Wonju City Hall union (Korean Government Employees' Union) that had tried to withdraw from the sector-specific unions beforehand had faced disputes as they had their executives expelled and faced lawsuits invalidating their withdrawal, citing these prohibition clauses.
However, the situation has changed since the Ministry of Employment and Labor initiated corrective orders against the collective withdrawal prohibition rules of sector-specific unions, including the Metal Workers’ Union, since February. The Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission decided on a corrective order against the KCFWU’s collective withdrawal prohibition rule on May 18, following those of the Metal, Office, Finance, and Government Employees’ Unions in April. The Daesan Branch held a general meeting 12 days after the labor commission’s decision regarding the KCFWU and made a sudden decision to withdraw from the sector-specific union. This has given rise to confidence that there will be no significant problems in advancing the withdrawal.
Given the diverse industries comprising the sector-specific unions, the prognosis is that if collective withdrawal is permitted, similar cases will continue to occur.