[Yoon Seok-yeol Elected] Public Research Union Expresses Concerns Over "Lack of Science and Technology Policy and Labor Discrimination"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Researchers affiliated with national public science and technology institutes across the country have expressed concerns about Yoon Seok-yeol, the president-elect of the 20th Republic of Korea.

The National Public Research Union issued a statement on the 11th, emphasizing that "(President-elect Yoon) should reconsider his science and technology pledges and promote policies that respect workers in the research field." The union criticized the response to the presidential policy demands submitted to Yoon Seok-yeol’s People Power Party campaign in February, stating that "the response was insufficient in addressing the request to present an understanding of the new science and technology ecosystem and development plans." The union added, "In this era of scientific and technological hegemony, the approach remains outdated, focusing on Nobel Prize achievements, and there were no concrete pledges," further criticizing that "aside from the very clich?d and obvious answer that everything will be done according to experts, laws, systems, and regulations, there was no genuine concern or willingness to resolve issues."

Regarding the five major science and technology pledges presented by President-elect Yoon, the union said, "While they appear to be based on good principles in theory, no specific details beyond general answers have been provided in various discussions so far," and pointed out, "Rather, there was a lack of understanding of science and technology policy, raising concerns that science and technology policy might be practically promoted only as a means for economic development."

On the 8th of last month, at a policy forum hosted by the Korea Federation of Science and Technology Societies and 30 other science and technology organizations, President-elect Yoon announced five major pledges: ▲ Establishment of a public-private joint Science and Technology Committee ▲ Complete separation of politics and science and technology policy ▲ Creation of a research environment that supports but does not interfere ▲ Long-term support of over 10 years for future-leading research ▲ Support for nurturing young scientific talent.

The union particularly expressed concern about President-elect Yoon’s 'anti-labor actions.' During the election period, policies such as reconsidering the minimum wage system and abolishing the 52-hour workweek were suggested, and the entire labor union was labeled as "a vested interest group of 4%." The union stated, "We urge the cessation of rhetoric that devalues labor and antagonizes labor unions, and call for labor policies that expand social publicness and strengthen labor rights." The union emphasized, "If science and technology policies are proposed while ignoring the research workers on the ground through labor policies, the development of science and technology in our country will inevitably be delayed," and urged, "A deep reflection and reform on the absence of science and technology policies and the labor-hating perspective shown during this election process are necessary to present proper science and technology and labor policies."

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