Prime Minister Jeong Sye-kyun "Regrets KCTU's Absence from Agreement Ceremony... Spirit of Agreement Must Be Respected"

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is delivering opening remarks at the Government Policy Coordination Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 2nd. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] "The labor-management-government agreement ceremony could not be held due to the absence of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). We deeply regret the KCTU for disappointing the other representatives who participated in the dialogue and the public."

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun made this statement during his opening remarks at the Government Seoul Office on the morning of the 2nd. He officially expressed his position regarding the cancellation of the 'Labor-Management-Government Dialogue Agreement Ceremony,' which was scheduled to be held at the Prime Minister's official residence at 10:30 a.m. the previous day, due to internal conflicts within the KCTU over the provisional agreement.

While expressing regret toward the KCTU, Prime Minister Chung emphasized, "Dialogue based on the trust of our society is important in itself, and the spirit of this agreement must be respected." At the meeting, he planned to review and finalize the key tasks for the post-COVID-19 era.

Earlier, the KCTU announced its intention to convene an extraordinary delegate meeting in the afternoon of the previous day to seek approval for the 'Labor-Management-Government Agreement to Overcome COVID-19.'

In a statement, the KCTU said, "We intended to participate in the Labor-Management-Government Representatives Meeting after organizational discussions and approval of the final draft at the 11th Central Committee meeting, but the meeting could not be opened. Chairman Kim Myung-hwan stated that this Labor-Management-Government Representatives Meeting was initiated at the request of the KCTU and that there is a need to convene an extraordinary delegate meeting as soon as possible for the many vulnerable workers suffering from the COVID-19 crisis."

The KCTU planned to discuss this matter again at the 11th Central Committee meeting convened in the afternoon. Chairman Kim was also expected to decide on his position depending on the results of the delegate meeting. On the same afternoon, Chairman Kim was transported to a hospital in Seoul due to a sudden deterioration in his health. A KCTU official stated, "Chairman Kim has had diabetes and high blood pressure. During the process of blocking the attendance of some industrial unions, he experienced pressure and stress, which caused a nosebleed and he briefly collapsed."

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