Government Imposes Fines on 52 Unions That Ultimately Failed to Submit Accounting Data

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Construction Union held a rally on February 28 in the Gwanghwamun area of Seoul to protest the government's crackdown on illegal activities at construction sites. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

The government is set to officially begin the procedure for imposing fines on labor unions that have failed to report accounting-related data.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 9th that it will impose fines on 52 unions for violations of the "Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act" (hereinafter referred to as the Labor Union Act).

Starting with the imposition of fines on five unions, including the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), on the 7th, the Ministry plans to sequentially impose fines on the remaining unions after the period for submitting opinions on the prior notice of fines ends.

Earlier, the Ministry required unions with more than 1,000 members to conduct a self-inspection on compliance with the obligation to keep and preserve documents starting from February 1, and to report the results by February 15.

However, only 36.7% (120 unions) of the targeted unions submitted their inspection results. The Ministry then granted a 14-day correction period, during which 146 unions additionally submitted their inspection results by the 4th of this month, after the correction period ended.

By higher-level organization, the non-submission rate was 4.7% (8 unions) for the FKTU, 8.3% (7 unions) for non-affiliated unions, while the non-submission rate for unions affiliated with the KCTU was significantly higher at 59.7% (37 unions).

In the case of the FKTU, despite the federation's directive to refuse data submission, 95.3% (164 unions) submitted their data.

For unions that did not submit data and failed to demonstrate compliance with document keeping and preservation, on-site administrative investigations are planned to begin from the third week of this month.

The Ministry has established a policy to apply the law strictly by confirming violations for unions that fail to fulfill even the basic responsibilities for accounting transparency.

Unions that refuse or obstruct on-site investigations will be fined under the Act on the Regulation of Violations of Order, and if physical force such as assault or threats is used during the investigation, charges of obstruction of official duties will be applied.

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