Kim Myung-hwan, Chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, "I take responsibility for the rejection of the labor-management-government agreement and will resign"

Kim Myung-hwan, Chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, is bowing his head in greeting after finishing a resignation press conference at the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 24th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jung] Kim Myunghwan, chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), announced his intention to resign on the 24th, taking responsibility for the failure to ratify the tripartite agreement to overcome the COVID-19 crisis.

On the afternoon of the same day, Chairman Kim held a press conference at the KCTU conference room in Jeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, stating, "As previously announced, although there are about five months left in my term, I intend to resign from the positions of chairman, senior vice chairman, and secretary-general, taking responsibility for the rejection of the tripartite agreement." He added, "I still hope that the KCTU will be an organization that resonates with the entire nation. However, due solely to our shortcomings, such appeals were not accepted."

On this day, the current KCTU leadership, including Chairman Kim, Senior Vice Chairman Kim Kyungja, and Secretary-General Baek Seokgeun, decided to step down together. They were elected by direct vote at the end of 2017, and their terms run until the end of this year.

The KCTU held its 71st extraordinary delegate meeting the day before, conducting a vote via electronic ballot on the 'Tripartite Agreement to Overcome the COVID-19 Crisis.' The voting results were 499 votes (38.27%) in favor and 805 votes (61.73%) against, resulting in the rejection of the ratification of the tripartite agreement.

For the first time in 22 years since the foreign exchange crisis, the tripartite dialogue, which seemed likely to reach an agreement, once again failed to culminate in a final pact. In April, Kim Myunghwan proposed a 'One-Point Tripartite Dialogue to Overcome the COVID-19 Crisis.' Subsequently, a tripartite representative meeting was formed, centered on Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, involving the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), KCTU, Korea Employers Federation (KEF), and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).

After about 40 days of tripartite dialogue, an agreement was prepared containing cooperation measures for employment retention, business revitalization, and social safety net expansion, and a signing ceremony was scheduled for the 1st of the month. However, the KCTU was blocked by internal hardliners and did not attend the signing ceremony, ultimately preventing the tripartite dialogue from reaching a final agreement.

Following this, Chairman Kim convened an extraordinary delegate meeting by his authority to seek the delegates' opinion. He had declared his intention to resign if the agreement was rejected, determined to see the tripartite dialogue he proposed bear fruit.

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