Democratic Labor Union's Absence, First National Crisis Overcoming 'Tripartite Grand Bargain' Failure in 22 Years

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The tripartite representative agreement ceremony, which was scheduled to be held for the first time in 22 years, ultimately fell through. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) notified its non-participation due to some internal opposition. The KCTU held a Central Executive Committee meeting, its internal decision-making body, on the morning of the 1st, after missing the final agreement deadline of the 30th of last month, but failed to reach a final conclusion on the provisional agreement.

According to the government, the KCTU informed that it would not attend the tripartite dialogue agreement ceremony scheduled for 10:30 a.m. that day at Samcheongdang in the Prime Minister’s Official Residence in Seoul. Since the launch of the ‘Tripartite Representative Meeting for Overcoming the COVID-19 Crisis’ proposed by KCTU Chairman Kim Myung-hwan on the 20th of last month, the tripartite parties held 14 working-level discussions and 5 vice-chairman-level discussions, repeatedly negotiating to produce a provisional agreement, but it was frustrated as it failed to pass the KCTU’s threshold.

The KCTU could not overcome internal criticism, including claims that the agreement was a significant retreat because it did not include a no-dismissal clause. Those opposing the tripartite agreement held placards saying, "We never agreed. KCTU leadership resign," and "Nullify the unilateral agreement! Scrap the tripartite collusion!" to protest the agreement. Although KCTU Chairman Kim Myung-hwan expressed his willingness to participate in the tripartite agreement at the risk of his position despite internal opposition, he failed to overcome the conflict.

As a result, the grand tripartite compromise involving all parties to overcome the national crisis drifted indefinitely. Expectations had been high as this was the first tripartite grand compromise in 22 years since the ‘Social Agreement for Overcoming the Economic Crisis’ agreed upon by the tripartite parties during the 1998 IMF foreign exchange crisis.

The ceremony was scheduled to be attended by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, KCTU Chairman Kim Myung-hwan, Korean Federation of Trade Unions Chairman Kim Dong-myung, Korea Employers Federation (KEF) Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik, Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Chairman Park Yong-man, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki, and Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jae-gap, all wearing yellow ‘Freesia Brooches’ symbolizing trust.

The ten-page tripartite agreement document consisted of five chapters, including ‘Government Role and Labor-Management Cooperation for Employment Retention.’ It stated the overarching premise that labor and management would cooperate to maintain employment as much as possible, protect vulnerable workers, and revive businesses, and included detailed items such as ▲ extension of the employment retention subsidy period by three months until September with a 90% increase in support rate ▲ extension and additional designation of special employment support industries ▲ introduction of nationwide employment insurance ▲ implementation of the National Employment Support System ▲ expansion of public medical infrastructure.

Additionally, the agreement shortened the eligibility requirement for employment retention subsidies from ‘unpaid leave of 90 days or more’ to ‘30 days or more,’ and included measures to support vulnerable workers in the blind spots of the employment retention support system, such as special-type workers, micro self-employed persons, and unpaid leave workers. The implementation of the agreement is to be overseen by the Economic, Social and Labor Council (ESLC), a social dialogue body directly under the president. The tripartite parties agreed to utilize the ESLC as the central body, along with relevant government ministries’ committees and already established meeting bodies, for any further necessary discussions.

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