Yang Kyung-soo, Chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, "Labor Issues Disappear in the Presidential Election... People's General Uprising on January 15 Next Year"

First Press Conference After Release
Demands for Application of Labor Standards Act to Workplaces with Fewer Than 5 Employees Ahead of Presidential Election

Yang Kyung-soo, Chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, held a press briefing at the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 14th, explaining the KCTU's position and plans for the 20th presidential election. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] Yang Kyung-soo, chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), demanded on the 14th that "all workers, including special employment and platform workers, have their basic rights guaranteed and that the Labor Standards Act be fully applied to workplaces with fewer than five employees ahead of the 20th presidential election." He argued, "Labor issues have disappeared from the presidential election," and "there is a need for a major social transformation centered on labor."

Chairman Yang made these remarks at a press conference held at the KCTU office in Jung-gu, Seoul, saying, "We will unite the will of workers experiencing inequality and discrimination throughout our society and hold a mass rally on January 15 next year. We will strongly enforce workers' demands ahead of the presidential election." He added, "Through joint projects with progressive parties and joint responses with the progressive people's camp, we must create a major trend of systemic change, restore the vitality of progressive politics, and bring forth alternative forces," emphasizing, "This must be made a new beginning for systemic change."

Chairman Yang was arrested on charges of leading several rallies in downtown Seoul from May to July this year and was released after being sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year probation and a fine of 3 million won on the 25th of last month. This press conference was his first official media appearance since his release.

The KCTU, along with the Justice Party, Progressive Party, Green Party, Labor Party, and Socialist Revolutionary Workers' Party, formed a "Joint Presidential Election Response Organization to Overthrow the Inequality System" and announced joint election agendas. They plan to reach a conclusion on the unification of progressive candidates by the end of this month. The KCTU has set the slogan for this presidential election as "Replace the Inequality System, Major Social Transformation Centered on Labor," arguing that inequalities in areas such as jobs, labor rights, assets, social services, and the climate crisis must be eliminated. In particular, they demand the guarantee of basic labor rights and the application of the Labor Standards Act for special employment and platform workers, as well as workers in workplaces with fewer than five employees.

The small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector opposes the KCTU's demands. The SME Council, composed of 13 organizations including the Korea Federation of SMEs, appealed on the 9th, stating, "Applying the Labor Standards Act to workplaces with fewer than five employees will push small business owners and self-employed people to the brink and is likely to cause employment instability for workers," and urged, "We hope the National Assembly and the government will deeply reconsider the realities of SMEs and small business owners."

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