Minju No Chong's Hansangjin: "Yoon Imposes Negative Image on Labor Unions with New Coined Terms"

"Illegal Activities at Construction Sites Are Due to Construction Companies"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Han Sang-jin, spokesperson for the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), evaluated President Yoon Suk-yeol's reference to the violent acts of the Construction Workers' Union on the 21st as 'Geonpok' (short for construction violence) by saying, "He is trying to instill a negative image through the creation of new words."

On the 22nd, Han said on YTN's 'News King Park Ji-hoon' program, "President Yoon seems very skilled at creating neologisms."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

When Yoon was Prosecutor General in 2021, regarding the promotion of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, he coined the neologism 'Bupwaewanpan' (corruption rampant) in response to 'Geomsu Wanbak' (complete removal of prosecution's investigative authority), which quickly propelled him as a presidential candidate.

Han also claims that 'Geonpok' is a political neologism. He said, "Words like 'Jopok' (gangster violence), 'Hakpok' (school violence), and so on, the character 'pok' (violence) carries a very negative image. Similarly, by exaggerating the situation at the site, they are making great efforts to instill such negative images. They are even going so far as to broadcast the Cabinet meeting live, which is quite excessive."

The reason President Yoon used the term 'Geonpok' is because hardline vested-interest unions at construction sites are allegedly engaging in illegal acts such as demanding money and forcing employment. In response, Han said, "Illegal subcontracting, unreasonable shortening of construction periods, serious accidents, unstable employment?all these issues still remain at the sites, and the cause lies with the construction companies. The demands to correct these by guaranteeing employment and complying with collective agreements made at the sites are being labeled as illegal."

Regarding illegal issues at construction sites, he added, "The problems structurally maintained by construction companies for their own benefit are the root cause." He also claimed that the so-called 'monthly tower crane fees,' cited as a representative illegal case, are a system created for the benefit of construction companies. Han said, "Construction companies need two tower cranes but only set up one, and if work slows down, they demand several items beyond the agreed terms. If refused, they give small bribes, which gradually increase to the large amounts seen now."

Regarding union accounting books, he said, "Administrative agencies have the authority to inspect union accounting books only if there is suspicion of fraud or a report is filed, and they must notify in writing specifying the reasons. If there is fraud, punishment is necessary, but demands beyond the legal scope are not appropriate."

He added, "If the government proceeds in this way, we are considering various legal responses together with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU). Especially since this seriously infringes on union autonomy, we are even preparing to file complaints with international organizations such as the International Labour Organization (ILO)."

Han claimed that the recent government moves are a 'political offensive.' He said, "The government is talking about labor, pension, and education reforms every day, but from our perspective, these are all regressions. The core of labor reform is simply to crush unions. All contracts the government talks about are legislative matters, but given the current political landscape, this is impossible. To complete the reform, they want to eliminate the KCTU and opposition parties and ask for support for the government and ruling party pushing the reform."

The union plans large-scale struggles in May, marking the first anniversary of the Yoon administration, and again in July. Han said, "We are announcing a general strike in July. In May, it will be the first anniversary of the Yoon Suk-yeol government, so we will conduct a proper evaluation of the first year together with our citizens."

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