Jung Sye-kyun: "The 'ILO Convention Ratification Bill' Must Pass... EU May Retaliate"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announced that he will promptly submit the ratification bill for the International Labour Organization (ILO) core conventions or related legislation to the National Assembly. The ILO ratification bill was introduced during the 20th National Assembly but was not passed and was discarded.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the afternoon of the 24th, during the government questioning session on education, social, and cultural affairs held at the National Assembly, Prime Minister Chung stated, “The Republic of Korea promised to adopt the European Union (EU) and ILO fundamental conventions, but it has not been done yet,” adding, “The EU views this very unfavorably. Domestically, neither labor nor employers have given it any consideration, so despite requests from the National Assembly, the ratification bill was simply discarded.”

He continued, “There is now a reason why it can no longer be delayed. The EU has referred this matter to an expert panel. If any non-trade retaliations occur there, it would severely damage the nation's reputation,” warning of possible retaliatory measures if the conventions are not ratified.

Prime Minister Chung emphasized, “It is practical and also a matter of fulfilling promises made to the international community, so this time the ratification must be done. The government will hasten to submit the bill or ratification proposal to the National Assembly.”

He added, “We have also been informed that the EU has imposed non-trade-related disadvantages due to the failure to ratify the ILO conventions,” and responded, “Efforts are needed to faithfully fulfill promises with the international community, at least to maintain our reputation.”

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