"Korean Unfair Labor Practice System Emphasizes Only Union Powers... Deepening Power Imbalance Between Labor and Management"

Number of Unfair Labor Practice Complaints and Accusations Steadily Increasing from 2015 to 2018
"Abolition of Double Punishment Rule and Establishment of Unfair Labor Practices by Unions Needed"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The unfair labor practice system in South Korea has been criticized by the business community for emphasizing only the activities and authority of labor unions while failing to supplement companies' countermeasures, thereby deepening the power imbalance between labor and management.

The Korea Employers Federation (KEF) held a forum on the 27th titled "Problems and Improvement Measures of the Unfair Labor Practice System under the Labor Union Act," where these points were raised.

In his opening remarks, KEF Chairman Kyung-sik Son argued, "It is necessary to amend the law to delete direct criminal penalties for unfair labor practices themselves to align with international standards and to regulate unfair labor practices by labor unions as well."

South Korea imposes not only criminal penalties for unfair labor practices themselves but also criminal penalties for non-compliance with remedial orders from labor commissions, which is effectively double punishment.

Chairman Son also emphasized, "The scope of punishment for unfair labor practices is limited to employers, and no penalties are imposed on wrongful acts by labor unions. Companies are in a situation where they cannot even raise issues regarding the abuse of union rights or illegal acts that disrupt collective bargaining order."

During the forum, criticism was voiced against domestic regulations on unfair labor practices that emphasize punishment, citing examples from the United States and Japan, where restoration rather than punishment is stipulated for unfair labor practices.

Professor Jeong Lee of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, who presented at the forum, pointed out, "In countries like the United States and Japan, which have similar unfair labor practice systems to ours, there are no criminal penalty provisions for unfair labor practices. The U.S. also has an unfair labor practice system for unions and prohibits such acts."

Following this, Professor Seung-gil Lee of Ajou University stated, "South Korea's Labor Union Act regulates only employers' unfair labor practices and treats employers' counteractions arising in labor-management relations as criminal acts, undermining equality between labor and management."

Concerns were also raised that in industrial workplaces, when labor-management conflicts arise, unions often make unfair labor practices an issue as a means of pressuring employers, leading to frequent abuse of complaints and accusations. According to KEF, the number of unfair labor practice reports and prosecutions increased from 571 and 114 cases in 2015 to 1,051 and 255 cases in 2018, respectively.

Jang Jung-woo, head of KEF's Labor Policy Department, criticized, "There are many cases where unfair labor practices are used as a means of pressuring employers and complaints and accusations are abused. When disciplinary actions are taken against union officials or members for fraudulent or illegal acts, applications for relief from unfair discipline and unfair labor practice issues are raised together, putting companies in a difficult position even in legitimate labor management or expression of opinions."

For this reason, there were continuous calls to abolish double punishment and, furthermore, to resolve issues civilly to address the imbalance between labor and management. Attorney Young-gil Cho, CEO of the law firm I& S, proposed alternatives to correct the labor-management imbalance, including abolishing the prohibition on replacement labor, establishing unfair labor practices for unions, and excluding criminal penalties.

Professor Jun-sik Bang of Youngsan University emphasized, "Based on the principle of restoration for unfair labor practices, administrative remedies or civil solutions such as damages are preferable to criminal punishment. Since unfair labor practices by the bargaining representative union against minority unions can occur under the single bargaining channel system, unfair labor practices by labor unions should be prohibited."

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