"The Death of Aristocratic Unions Means the Survival of Youth"… Yoon Hee-sook's First Pledge is 'Labor Reform'

Checks on Long-Term Strikes and Flexible Application of the 52-Hour Workweek System

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the People Power Party running for president, presented 'labor reform' as her first presidential pledge on the 18th.

In a press release titled "The Aristocratic Unions Insisting Only on Chimney Era Struggles Must Die for the Youth to Live," Rep. Yoon stated, "The Moon Jae-in administration and aristocratic unions, which have been calling for resolving polarization and social integration, have instead become the main culprits aggravating polarization and damaging social integration," emphasizing, "The monopoly structure of aristocratic unions that have pursued only their own interests by holding the economy hostage must be dismantled."

Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the People Power Party, is holding a press conference for her presidential campaign at the National Assembly on the 2nd. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the same day, Rep. Yoon said, "A new job ecosystem operating through cooperation and coexistence is urgently needed," and presented a total of four pledges related to labor reform.

First, Rep. Yoon argued that the minimum wage should be determined by industry, reflecting jobs and economic conditions, not by strong unions.

He said, "During the first two years of the Moon Jae-in administration, the minimum wage rose by nearly 30%, damaging the economic structure," adding, "The minimum wage should not be influenced by large corporations' labor-management relations or political situations but should be proposed by expert groups based on an objective formula considering wage growth rate, inflation rate, unemployment rate, bankruptcy rate, and economic growth rate, and approved by the government. Industry-specific differentiation will also be introduced."

He also promised to allow replacement labor to check long-term strikes by unions. Rep. Yoon explained, "The number of workdays lost due to strikes in our country is 190 times that of Japan, our most important competitor. It is the biggest obstacle driving away companies wanting to invest domestically," adding, "The era of desperate strikes must now end." He further stated, "Like other advanced countries, we will allow replacement labor and prohibit workplace occupation that disrupts operations."

Regarding the 52-hour workweek system, he said it would be reorganized into a flexible and individualized form. Rep. Yoon emphasized, "The 52-hour regulation should protect low-income workers while embracing diversity," and added, "We will remove various detailed regulations that hinder the flexible application of the 52-hour system and reduce legal intervention, expanding workers' self-determination over working hours and autonomous agreements between labor and management."

On employment types, he announced plans to lift the two-year employment restriction on non-regular workers but raise all treatment to regular worker levels from the third year onward to prevent abuse of non-regular employment. He also added that the voices of MZ generation unions will be fairly represented without being ignored by vested-interest unions.

Rep. Yoon said, "Unions waving headbands and flags no longer fit the times," and stated, "We must break away from the confrontation paradigm of the conveyor belt era and have all economic actors cooperate to move the country forward."

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