Democratic Labor Union Facing 'Communication Breakdown' Criticism, Chairman Election Voting Begins... Negotiation and Dialogue as Key Issues

On the 25th, the second day of raising social distancing to level 2 in the metropolitan area, the "Stop Labor Deterioration! Achieve the Jeon Tae-il 3 Laws! Korean Confederation of Trade Unions General Strike Full-Force Struggle Nationwide Simultaneous Rally" is being held in front of the Democratic Party of Korea Seoul Metropolitan Party Office in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) will begin voting for the 10th term executive election, selecting a new chairman and executives, starting from the 28th. Attention is focused on what choice the KCTU will make between dialogue and struggle, as it faces criticism for pushing ahead with a general strike amid the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The KCTU will conduct the executive election voting from the 28th until the 4th of next month through on-site voting, mobile, and email methods. The number of union members eligible to vote is 957,920. This election is expected to be a key issue regarding the direction the KCTU will choose under the social dialogue framework. Previously, the resignation of former chairman Kim Myung-hwan was also due to internal opposition blocking the 'one-point social agreement to overcome COVID-19.'

There are four candidates running for chairman. Candidate No. 1 is Kim Sang-gu (Metal Workers' Union, the candidate's affiliated organization), No. 2 is Lee Young-joo (Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union), No. 3 is Yang Kyung-soo (Metal Workers' Union), and No. 4 is Lee Ho-dong (Public Transport Workers' Union). In the previous online debate, they sharply clashed over whether to participate in social dialogue.

Kim, a former chairman of the Metal Workers' Union, pledged to return to 'social negotiations,' while the other candidates emphasized struggle. Lee, who served as the KCTU secretary-general, stressed struggle, saying, "In the history of the Korean democratic labor movement, there has never been a successful case of social negotiations or tripartite agreements." Some candidates even announced plans to prepare for a general strike starting January next year.

The winner is expected to be revealed between the 5th and 6th of next month. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, a runoff vote will be held starting from the 17th of next month. The term of the elected executives will be from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2023.

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