KEF Holds Meeting with EU Delegation... Requests Support for Yoo Myung-hee in WTO Director-General Election

Sohn Kyung-shik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The Korea Employers Federation (KEF) held a meeting with the EU Ambassador Delegation to Korea, exchanging views on ▲ social dialogue to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, ▲ the Korea-EU partnership in the post-COVID era, and ▲ issues related to the ratification of ILO core conventions surrounding the Korea-EU FTA.

The meeting, held on the 19th at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, was the second of its kind following last year. It was attended by ambassadors and deputy ambassadors from 21 EU member countries, including Michael Reiterer, the EU Delegation Ambassador, and from KEF, Chairman Son Kyung-sik, Executive Vice Chairman Kim Yong-geun, and other members of the KEF leadership.

Chairman Son spoke about Korea’s social dialogue to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, stating, “Drawing on past experiences of overcoming national crises such as the 1998 IMF financial crisis and the 2009 global financial crisis through social dialogue, we achieved a grand compromise at the end of July where labor, management, and government cooperated to maintain employment and save businesses.”

He also noted, “This year marks the 10th anniversary of Korea establishing a ‘strategic partnership’ with the EU, its third-largest trading partner,” adding, “I hope that economic and trade relations between Korea and the EU will normalize and that the Korea-EU partnership will be strengthened to lead the post-COVID era.”

He continued, “The EU’s new leadership’s ‘European Green Deal’ strategy and Korea’s ‘Korean New Deal’ strategy share common goals such as revitalizing the digital economy and addressing climate change,” and said, “If Korean and EU companies, which possess world-class technologies in new fields such as secondary batteries, electric vehicles, and renewable energy, cooperate through these initiatives, it could create a powerful synergy effect.”

Regarding the ratification of ILO core conventions linked to the Korea-EU FTA, Chairman Son stated, “While the efforts to ratify the ILO core conventions under the Korea-EU FTA should be respected, this matter is directly related to establishing cooperative labor-management relations and advancing labor laws and systems within Korea.”

In particular, he emphasized, “Along with discussions on legal amendments for ratifying the ILO core conventions, improvements to the current legal system are necessary,” and explained, “We are consulting with the government and the National Assembly to improve regulations such as unilateral criminal penalties for unfair labor practices against employers, the complete ban on replacement labor during strikes, and union occupation of workplaces to a level comparable to advanced countries.”

Chairman Son warned, “If the ILO core conventions are ratified without improving Korea’s confrontational and combative labor-management relations and systems, it will impose a greater burden on Korea’s labor relations and business environment,” and requested the EU side to cooperate in considering Korea’s unique circumstances to help build cooperative labor-management relations.

Finally, he mentioned that Yoo Myung-hee, Director-General for Trade at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, has announced her candidacy for the next WTO Director-General election, introducing her as “a suitable candidate who can strengthen WTO reform and the multilateral free trade system based on her extensive experience and global network accumulated over the past 25 years in the trade field,” and asked for the interest and support of the EU ambassadors.

Ambassador Reiterer stated, “The EU is addressing challenges such as aging, digitalization, and innovation through social dialogue,” and added, “We will actively support Korea’s social dialogue to overcome the current crisis.”

He emphasized, “Cooperation among social partners is the best way to minimize and recover from the impact of COVID-19,” and said, “On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Korea-EU strategic partnership, both sides should strive to respond at all levels including national, industrial, and corporate through cooperation.”

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