Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Suspends Participation in Tripartite Commission... Deepening Labor-Government Conflict

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) has decided not to participate in the Economic, Social and Labor Council (ESLC), a tripartite social dialogue body under the direct control of the president, in protest against the harsh crackdown on sectoral union officials. The labor-government conflict that has arisen since the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration appears to be deepening.

Korean Federation of Trade Unions Chairman Kim Dong-myeong is speaking at an emergency central executive committee meeting held on the afternoon of the 7th at the Korean Federation of Trade Unions Jeonnam Gwangyang Regional Branch meeting room in Jung-dong, Gwangyang-si, Jeollanam-do.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 7th, the FKTU held its 100th emergency central executive committee meeting at the FKTU Jeonnam Gwangyang regional branch meeting room and decided not to participate in the ESLC, delegating the decision on complete withdrawal to the executive team, including Chairman Kim Dong-myeong. About 50 people, including Chairman Kim, the executive team, and regional headquarters chairpersons, attended the meeting. Chairman Kim proposed, "We will completely suspend participation in the ESLC, but please delegate authority to the chairman to decide on withdrawal at any time if necessary," and the attendees agreed, concluding the meeting.

The FKTU stated, "We have decided to engage in a struggle to judge the Yoon Suk-yeol administration," adding, "We will hold the entire organization accountable in response to the strong repression against the labor movement."

The labor-government conflict is intensifying due to the FKTU's non-participation in the tripartite social dialogue body. The Yoon Suk-yeol government has clashed with labor organizations while pushing for greater transparency in union accounting. Subsequently, conflicts became fully exposed due to incidents such as the self-immolation of a Democratic Labor Union construction union official and the harsh crackdown on FKTU Metal Workers' Union officials.

The FKTU's declaration to suspend participation in the ESLC is the first in 7 years and 5 months since January 2016 during the Park Geun-hye administration. At that time, the FKTU withdrew from the tripartite commission, the predecessor of the ESLC, in protest against the Park Geun-hye administration's labor flexibilization policies. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) has not participated in social dialogue bodies for 25 years since withdrawing from the tripartite commission in 1999.

The FKTU plans to officially announce the discussion results through a press conference in front of the Yongsan Presidential Office at around 10 a.m. the following day.

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