Applause for All Public Officials Who Protected Seoul, the Capital, from COVID-19!

The Public Service Labor Union Federation (Chairman Lee Chung-jae) on the 6th expressed great gratitude to Mayor Park Won-soon of Seoul, who protected the safe capital city, and all public officials and medical staff as social distancing ended and daily distancing began, urging continued efforts to ensure successful quarantine and management in Seoul until the declaration of the end of COVID-19.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight on May 6, the total number of new COVID-19 confirmed cases increased by 2 to 10,806. Both new cases were imported from overseas, and domestic transmission has been zero for two consecutive days.

Among the global cumulative confirmed cases of 3,523,695 and cumulative deaths of 251,780 (as of 9 a.m. on May 5), South Korea ranks 37th in confirmed cases. The case fatality rate (2.4%) is significantly lower than that of Europe or the United States (5.8%), which exceed 10%, and China (5.6%), the origin of the coronavirus.

Among South Korea’s total population (51,842,524), approximately 19% or more (9,726,787 as of April 2020) reside in Seoul, where the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases is 637, accounting for 5.8% of the total confirmed cases.

Considering that capitals such as Tokyo, London, and Paris have struggled with COVID-19 containment and have even become channels for spreading the virus to other regions, Seoul’s systematic response and management are regarded as successful.

Seoul also faced critical moments such as the cluster infection at the Guro Call Center, but Mayor Park Won-soon took the lead each time, working with public officials and medical staff to protect the safe capital city of Seoul. Furthermore, regarding emergency relief policies for citizens facing survival crises, metropolitan area leaders including Seoul’s mayor took proactive measures ahead of the central government. This served as a good example that in the era of decentralization, the leadership of local heads and the public mindset and dedicated attitude of public officials and infrastructure play a crucial role in uniting civic consciousness.

The Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union (Chairman Lee Chung-jae, pictured) expressed great gratitude on the 6th to Mayor Park Won-soon and all public officials and medical staff who protected the safe capital Seoul as social distancing ended and daily life distancing began. They also urged continuous efforts to ensure that Seoul’s quarantine and management remain successful until the official declaration of the end of COVID-19.

Additionally, they called for deep consideration and solutions regarding relief policies and economic revitalization that ordinary citizens facing survival crises can feel. This is because the functional and symbolic significance of the capital Seoul is considerable.

The aftermath of COVID-19 has brought difficulties not only to irregular and platform workers but also a wave of employment freezes in large corporations, and a surge in business closures and suspensions among self-employed individuals.

The expansion of flexible work systems such as telecommuting and accelerated technological advancements in the Fourth Industrial Revolution make fundamental innovation in the labor market inevitable. Permanent, company-tailored vocational training to prepare for rapidly changing employment environments is essential, and a social grand compromise involving labor, management, self-employed, and all citizens is urgently required.

Restructuring the labor ecosystem is not an issue that can be resolved by the central government alone or deferred to companies. At this moment, when local governments and labor sectors must move forward together, the Public Service Union demands that Seoul take the lead proactively and declares its readiness to respond to social grand compromise at any time.

The Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union was founded in December 2016 alongside the Candlelight Revolution, advocating labor reform. It consists of 10 industrial unions including public officials’ unions, teachers’ unions, pension unions, Saemaul unions, media unions, and about 100,000 members. It proposes social community movements with the people, life-cycle labor movements, and coexistence and symbiosis in labor-management relations as its movement directions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.