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Korean Workers:
Myths and Reality

South Korea:
The unions, the Net and the next general strike

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January 1998
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February 1998

Jobless rate soars

• Unemployment Crisis Overshadows Korea Joongang Ilbo 28.2.98

• S.Korea's production tumbles, unemployment soars Reuters 27.2.98

• Unemployed To Reach 1 Million Digital Chosun 27.2.98

• Jobless Rate Surges to 4.5 Pct in January Korea Times 27.2.98

Amnesty International to Kim Dae Jung:

Respect Human Rights!

• Release prisoners of conscience
• Abolish the death penalty
• Reform repressive legislation

• Amnesty International Urges New President to Defend Human Rights Korea Times 26.2.98

• S Korea Prisoners Release Hoped for Associated Press 25.2.98

• SOUTH KOREA: AMNESTY URGES S.KOREA'S KIM TO REFORM RIGHTS LAWS Reuters 24.2.98

• South Korea: A New Human Rights Agenda? Full text of official Amnesty International statement 24.2.98
  The human rights organization is calling on Kim Dae-jung to implement a series of reforms, including the release all prisoners of conscience and reform of the National Security Law in accordance with international human rights standards. There were more than 600 arrests under the National Security Law in 1997 and several dozen long-term political prisoners have spent up to three decades in prison after unfair trials.

KCTU Official Predicts "Panic" As Unemployment Grows

• Labor Cutbacks Pose Problem for South Korean Economic Recovery New York Times 24.2.98
  Many in the labor movement and in business think the government is hoping that the messy, unpopular task of laying off masses of workers will fall to foreigners. "That's why this law was introduced in the first place," said Yoon Young-mo, international secretary of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which canceled the threatened strike -- although not before delivering a setback to the recovering stock market and spurring a drop in the value of South Korea's currency, the won. "We believe the mergers and acquisitions by foreigners the law is encouraging will lead to mass dismissals," Yoon said. Although he refused to rule out future strikes by confederation members, Yoon predicted that as unemployment soared, it would set off a panic among an increasingly desperate public with nowhere to turn for relief in a society where lifetime employment and ironclad familial loyalty had until now made a social safety net unnecessary.

Mando Strike Called Off

• SOUTH KOREA: MANDO UNION CALLS OFF STRIKE Reuters 23.2.98
  Management of Mando accepted labour's request to avoid layoffs as it tried to normalise business operations at the country's leading automobile parts maker, the union said. It also said Mando management had accepted labour's request to give workers sometype of guarantee of job security if the company was taken over by a third party, merged or if parts were sold off, the statement said.

PICIS:

"We Want Leadership to Organise Struggle against Layoffs"

• Latest News from the Labour Movement inside Korea: FKTU decides to stand for local elections with KCTU . . . Sets up Unemployment Center . . . Mando Union Workers Go on a Strike Today ("Mando union has 7 locals and denounced KCTU's cancel of strike.") . . . A Roadside Salesman Killed by Violent Evacuation . . . Third Emergency Committee Meeting Dicussed Plans after Cancellation of Strike . . . PICIS Opinion" "We regard KCTU as a symbol Korean workers' power. But their manner on tripartite commission and tactics afterwards was somewhat disappointing. We expect their further struggle and we'd like to participate in that." PICIS Newsletter No. 6 23.2.98

400% Increase in Layoffs in 1 Month -- Before New Law Takes Effect

• Number of Layoffs Increases Fourfold over One-Month Period Korea Herald 23.2.98
  In a foreboding note, the increase took place in the month before legalized layoffs were introduced, meaning that a flood of people without work could join the current ranks.

Mando Auto Parts Workers to Strike Monday

• SOUTH KOREA: MANDO UNION WORKERS TO STRIKE FROM MON. Reuters 20.2.98
  Union workers at South Korea's leading automobile parts maker Mando Machinery Corp will go on strike from Monday after talks with management on job security broke off, the union said on Friday. . . . The statement said the union had demanded the collective bargaining agreement befollowed when a third party takes over part or all of the company's operations. It has also demanded that management not lay off workers as part of its normalisation efforts. But management has refused the union's demands, the statement said.

• SOUTH KOREA: MANDO SHRS DOWN, STRIKE NEWS A FACTOR. Reuters 20.2.98

Kia Boss Threatens: Strike Means Shutdown of Company

• SOUTH KOREA: INTERVIEW-KIA SEEKS DEALS WITH UNIONS, BANKS, FORD Reuters 20.2.98
  Kia Motors Corp Chairman Jin Nyum said on Friday he is trying to rescue his debt-ridden company by seeking peace with the unions, relief from creditors and capital from Ford Motor Co. In a wide-ranging interview with Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and AutomotiveNews, the former labour minister took a tough line on unions, with a collective bargaining agreement expiring at the end of March. "If labour strikes, then I will close the factory and it will be the last day ofKia, not only for labour but for management," he said.

• SOUTH KOREA: KIA MOTORS VOWS TO CLOSE IF UNIONS STRIKE. Reuters 20.2.98

Korean media unions vs. Rupert Murdoch

• Media Unions Oppose to Murdoch's Advance Into Korean Satellite TV Korea Times 20.2.98

• Broadcasting Unions Oppose Murdoch Satellite TV Digital Chosun 19.2.98

More than 17,000 civil servants to lose their jobs

• Restructuring Plan to Reduce Civil Service Korea Herald 19.2.98

• SOUTH KOREA TO CUT CIVIL SERVICE BY NEARLY 11 PCT. Reuters 18.2.98

Government warns:
"Illegal" strikes to be subject to "severe penalties"

• Labor Committee Calls for Strong Actions Against Violation of Agreement Korea Times 18.2.98

Mass Layoffs Begin

900,000 More Workers Expected to Lose Their Jobs by Year's End

• S.Korea, IMF agree to expand social safety net CNN/Reuters 18.2.98

• TABLE-Summary of adopted S.Korea reform bills Reuters 17.2.98
  Mass layoffs will be allowed if there is an urgent business need, including mergers and acquisitions. But discrimination against women during layoffs is illegal. Management must inform the labour representative of the layoff and efforts to avoid it 60 days in advance. Layoffs which exceed a certain number of workers must be reported to the labour minister. When workers are fired for business reasons, and management plans to hire workers within two years, it has the duty to try to rehire those who were laid off first. Management may hire temporary workers, but must discuss the matter with a labour union or labour representative. Sectors requiring specific knowledge, skills or experience will be limited to areas specified through a presidential decree.

• Massive Layoffs Looming over All Sectors Korea Herald 18.2.98
  Labor circles anticipate that in industrial sector, mass layoffs are likely to take place first in conglomerates ranked between 10th to 20th in asset terms, considering their severe shortage of operational funds.

• Unemployment becomes a white-collar woe South China Morning Post 17.2.98
  Korea's violent and often bloody labour unrest during the past decade has been caused mainly by blue-collar workers at shipyards, car plants and other smoke-stack factories. In many cases, office workers tried to stop their action. Many white-collar workers will change their conservative positions when they find Korea's labour and other economic reforms will make them the most prominent victims of all. Korean white-collar workers will perhaps be less militant and organised than blue-collar workers in showing their anger. That does not mean they will just sit idle.

• SOUTH KOREA: Analysts ponder fate of S.Korea's militant unions Reuters 13.2.98
  It's too early to rule out future labour unrest in a country with a history of bloody labour clashes and a culture of lifetime employment that is now under threat.

Layoff Bill Passed

• Massive unemployment expected
• "Unions promise life and death fight"
• New 190,000 member mega-union formed
• Daewoo worker suicides in protest

• Report from Seoul: Strike Aborted - Statement of KCTU Emergency Committee; Choi Dae-lim, worker of Daewoo Heavy Industries, burns himself to death; Second Railroading of 'layoff bill'; Steel Workers Union Organised - Including full text of declaration and platform PICIS Newsletter No. 5 16.2.98

• Assembly Passes Layoff Bill; Session Extended as Other Bills Yet to Be Okayed Korea Herald 16.2.98

• South Korea kills off 'jobs-for-life' BBC 15.2.98

• Korean unions promise life-and-death fight for jobs Reuters 15.2.98
  A life-and-death struggle for jobs will sweep through South Korea this year when massive industrial layoffs hit many work sites, labor leaders say.

• Steel Workers Union Organized Digital Chosun 15.2.98
  The 2,500 representatives of three steel union groups, the Democratic Metal Workers Federation, the Automobile Federation and the Federation of Hyundai group Unions, held a meeting in Chamshil Sunday, to combine their organizations under the new name of the Consolidated Federation of Steel Workers (CFSW). The new union is composed of 184 smaller unions from the Daewoo, Kia and Hyundai groups and has 190,000 members. Tan Byong-ho, from the emergency committee of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) was appointed as the first head of the union.

• Massive Unemployment Expected Digital Chosun 15.2.98

• Layoff Allowed in New Legislation Korea Times 15.2.98

• SKorea Adopts IMF Economy Demands Associated Press 14.2.98
  With international and domestic pressure mounting, rival parties struck a last-minute compromise and passed 17 economic reform bills, minutes before the deadline. There was no immediate reaction from the country's militant labor unions, which have threatened to call nationwide strikes in auto and other key industries once the single-house National Assembly approves layoffs. The new legislation, among other things, gives the country's bloated, debt-ridden conglomerates the freedom to trim their work forces, effective immediately, and become more competitive.

• South Korean parliament passes bills to allow lay-offs BBC 14.2.98

Strike Called Off - For Now

• KCTU to Fight Layoff Bill Joongang Ilbo 14.2.98

• Fears of Labor Unrest Defused as Hawkish Unionists Back Down Korea Herald 14.2.98
  The accord has temporarily eased the nation, but Korea is still not over the hill regarding labor unrest. "The withdrawal of strike action does not mean that we are accepting mass layoffs, or dropping our demands that conglomerates must reform," a KCTU leader said. He warned that labor would provoke further conflict if lay off bills were not amended later.

• KCTU Cancels General Strike Digital Chosun 13.2.98

• Biz Sector Guardedly Welcomes Strike Cancellation Korea Times 13.2.98

• Citizens Relieved Over Cancellation of Labor Strikes Korea Times 13.2.98

• Key South Korean Union Calls Off Strike New York Times 13.2.98
  In a sudden turnaround, South Korea's most militant labor organization announced late Thursday that it had scrapped a general strike scheduled to begin Friday to protest legislation that would make layoffs easier. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, an umbrella group representing 500,000 workers, said it feared strikes would weaken the confidence of foreign investors at a time the country needed outside investment to help restore the ailing economy.

• South Korea general strike called off BBC 12.2.98
  The BBC Seoul Correspondent says the strike was attracting only limited support, with South Koreans coming to realise that the job-for-life culture is now dead.

• S.Korean Group Calls Off Strike Plan AP 12.2.98
  But the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said it would still call a nationwide strike if the legislation now before Parliament is adopted. Government officials said the bill is certain to be adopted this month with bipartisan support.

• KCTU to Give up General Strike Joongang Ilbo 13.2.98

Korean Government Warns Of "Stiff Measures" Against Trade Unions If "Illegal" General Strike Launched Tomorrow

• KCTU to Begin '100,000' Strike Digital Chosun 12.2.98
  The Supreme Prosecutorial Office decided Thursday that if the union members strike disregarding the Tripartite Agreement, it will use the police to severely punish the strike leadership.
  • Earlier story: Government to Stop KCTU General Strike Digital Chosun 12.2.98

• Imminent General Strike to Stirrup Stabilizing EconomyJoongang Ilbo 12.2.98
  The government has already prescribed it as an unlawful act and warned the union authorities that they will be met with full confrontation should they go ahead with the strike. The emergency committee of the KCTU had planed to go on a sit-down strike and have a tonsure ceremony February 11, but was blockade by the police.

• Government Warns Stern Action Against Illegal KCTU Strikes Korea Herald 12.2.98
  Hundreds of riot police were deployed on streets around Myongdong Cathedral in central Seoul, to block the KCTU leaders from sit-ins to prepare for the strike. The Catholic church, a venue frequented by KCTU leaders taking shelter to avoid police hunts, was where the KCTU new leaders had planned to go ahead with its first strike.

• Prosecution Warns Against Strikes by KCTU Korea Times 12.2.98
  The prosecution made it clear yesterday that those leading any wildcat strikes in opposition to the tripartite agreement among labor, management and government, will be sternly punished in accordance with relevant laws. A senior prosecutor said that if the laborers put their plan into action, the leading figures will be arrested to end the strikes as soon as possible. Those involved in any violent activities during the strikes will also be punished, he said.

• Seoul minister warns against strike threats CNN/Reuters 11.2.98
  Earlier on Wednesday Labour Minister Lee Ki-ho urged "settlement of problems through discussion" but warned the government would take stern measures against the strike. "If, unfortunately, the KCTU stages illegal strikes, the government will have no choice but to take all steps according to the law," Lee told a news conference.

• South Korea warns unions BBC 11.2.98
  The Labour Minister, Lee Ki-ho, said the strike would hurt South Korea just as it was beginning to regain international confidence. Extra riot police have been on the streets of Seoul to prevent protests by union leaders.

• Labor Strikes to Cause Another Foreign Money Crisis, IMF Warns Korea Herald 12.2.98

• Labor Union Threaten All-Out Strikes Against Tripartite Agreement Korea Times 11.2.98

• S.Korean Strike Threatened; Support Seen Low Reuters 10.2.98

  Rank-and-File Rebellion in KCTU

  Rejects Leadership Decision on Accord

  Reports from Seoul The plan for KCTU general strike struggle: Official Resolution of KCTU delegation convention KCTU delegates reject the "Tripartite Agreement": Rank and File Revolution in KCTU Delegate Convention - On the spot report

  • S Korea: Unions reject reforms Financial Times 11.2.98
    The vote against the pact amounts to a revolt against the union leadership by members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which represents 550,000 workers in the nation's main car, shipbuilding and steel industries. The KCTU reaction also represents the first significant challenge to the economic reform programme proposed by Kim Dae-jung, Korea's president-elect, in response to the $58.5bn (£35bn) bailout by the International Monetary Fund.

  • Strike Threat Undermines Korean Labor Agreement New York Times 11.2.98
    The recalcitrant union said members would strike on Friday unless the proposed legislation to permit layoffs was revised to place more of the burden of reordering South Korea's economy on the corporate conglomerates, or chaebol, which expanded recklessly for years and are widely regarded as the chief cause of the country's problems. "The law is not in any way perceived by workers to provide them protection, but rather to give employers the power to dismiss them," said Yoon Young-mo, international secretary of the confederation, which is the smaller and more militant of South Korea's two large labor federations.
    
    The reaction of South Korea's student groups, long regarded as a gauge of public sentiment, to the proposed layoff legislation will be closely watched. So far, the students have said nothing, even though they are likely to bear the brunt of the upheaval that is sure to sweep South Korea's workers as the country tries to regain its economic footing. Park Young-ki, a professor at Sogang University and an expert on South Korean labor, estimates that of the 470,000 graduates entering the labor market this year, fewer than 100,000 will get jobs.

  • Conflict Mounts as KCTU Vows to Strike over Layoff Accord Korea Herald 11.2.98
    Militant member unions vetoed the agreement which had made it easier to layoff workers, and threatened to strike, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said yesterday. In an overnight vote asking if members approved of the layoff accord KCTU leaders signed last week, 67 percent of 272 KCTU representatives voted to nullify it, the KCTU said. The representatives are leaders of member unions, and they also decided to dissolve the current KCTU leadership and launch a special emergency committee to replace it. Tan Byong-ho, leader of the Korean Federation of Metal Workers' Unions, was named as chairman of the new organization, ousting current KCTU leader Pae Sok-bum.

  • Labor Discord Pulls Down Share Prices 2.25 Percent Korea Herald 11.2.98

  • Temporary Representative Meeting of KCTU Rejects Agreement PICIS Newsletter 9.2.98

  • Layoffs Still Confronted With Obstacles Korea Times 10.2.98
    The progressive Minju Nochong (Korean Confederation of Trade Unions) vetoed the agreement on layoffs in the assembly of its union representatives Monday, demanding a renegotiation. At the assembly, the union leaders of the KCTU even decided to call a general strike if the House passes the bills permitting layoffs. Upon the rebellion against the tripartite agreement by the KCTU, the labor committee commissioned by President-elect Kim Dae-jung came up with a hard-line position, categorically ruling out any submission to the threat of strike.

  Accord Reached!

  Korean Unions Agree to Layoffs; Get Rights in Exchange

  But National Assembly Majority Might Torpedo Agreement . . .

  • Unions Poised to Boost Political Influence Through Elections Korea Herald 10.2.98

  • DJ Asks Teachers' Unions for Restraint; ILO Representatives Call for Special Attention on Issue Korea Herald 10.2.98

  • Disputes Escalate over Teachers Unions Korea Herald 10.2.98

  • GNP Opposition Means Passage of New Labor Laws Far from Certain Korea Herald 9.2.98
    The majority Grand National Party (GNP), which holds 165 seats in the 299-member Assembly, has decided to cooperate in passing only those revisions to the Labor Standard Law which will introduce layoffs. GNP members also agreed that a bill on the establishment of job security fund be deliberated on after the new government is inaugurated as the matter relates with a revision to the government's supplementary budget. They are even firmer in opposing the NCNP's agreement with labor to allow political activities by unions and permit teachers to form trade unions and public officials, organized activities. GNP officials have made it clear that they will not endorse the agreement made by representatives of the government, labor and management last week on these issues.

  • Unionists, Dissidents Expected to Create Progressive Party Korea Times 8.2.98

  • House Starts Deliberating on Layoff Bill Today Korea Times 8.2.98

  • Agreement in Korea sets example for the region, says ICFTU International Confederation of Free Trade Unions - press release 6.2.98

  • Labor Leaders Accept Layoffs; Trade Unions Allowed to Engage in Political Activities Korea Herald 7.2.98

  • Politicians Praise Layoff Accord; GNP Strikes a Sour Note on New Freedoms for Labor Korea Herald 7.2.98

  • Businesses' Reaction to Agreement Mixed Korea Herald 7.2.98

  • Mass Unemployment Expected as Unions Agree to Layoff Bill Korea Herald 7.2.98

  • Disputes Likely Over Allowing Teachers' Unions Korea Herald 7.2.98

  • Accord Draws Mixed Response from Public Korea Herald 7.2.98
    After results of the panel's dramatic agreement hit the TV airwaves in the morning, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) in Samson-dong, central Seoul, was flooded with phone calls from laborers protesting. "I feel betrayed by our leadership, which accepted the legislation of layoffs," complained one union leader. "I hear that this feeling is widespread among trade unions, up against management on the issue." Others took issue with the KCTU's apparent about-face, in which the organization had repeatedly declared its opposition against layoffs in the past, only to turn around and agree to the new measures.

  • Reaction Mixed to Landmark Layoff Agreement Korea Times 6.2.98

  • Majority GNP Dissents Over Teachers' Union Korea Times 6.2.98

  • FOCUS-South Korea agrees on landmark labour pact Reuters 6.2.98

  • S.Korea hails agreement on labor reform UPI 6.2.98

  • Tripartite Panel Nearing Agreement; President-Elect's Compromise on Labor Demands Causes Hope Korea Herald 6.2.98
    Labor representatives demanded, as a condition of their agreement to the layoff bill, that the government allow public officials and teachers to form trade unions. They also demanded that workers be allowed to engage in political activities.

  • Negotiations on Layoff Bill Nearing Conclusion Korea Herald 5.2.98
    The labor representatives have demanded that strict conditions be attached to how companies lay off workers to which management has expressed opposition. Union leaders have also called for public officials and teachers to be allowed to form trade unions and guarantee of the rights of workers to engage in political activities.

  • Junior Gov't Employees to Form Labor Consultative Body Next Year Korea Times 5.2.98
    The envisioned "worksite consultative body" is a virtual labor organization for public servants, who are prohibited from organizing labor unions, an official said yesterday.

  • Korea: Foreign takeover bids to be allowed Financial Times 5.2.98
    The dissident Korean Confederation of Trade Unions yesterday threatened to stage a limited strike action tomorrow to protest against the labour reform unless the government took strong action against chaebol owners. The union group claimed workers were so far bearing the brunt of the nation's economic problems.

  • Layoff Law Dispute No Nearer Resolution Korea Herald 4.2.98
    In the face of the strong [labour] resistance, the NCNP softened its hard-line stance and indicated that it could delay the passage of the bill until after the tripartite committee reaches a compromise.

  • A taxi worker commits suicide to protest company's illegal measures . . . Establishment of National Federation of Metal Workers' Industrial Unions continues . . . Joint Action Group for General Strike established . . . Protest against World Economic Forum . . . Korean Declaration against the Globalisers of Misery PICIS Newsletter 2.2.98

    Both Korean Labour Federations Walk Out of Talks; Strikes Threatened for Wednesday FKTU Withdraws from Tripartite Commission Protesting Layoff Bill Korea Herald 3.2.98 The FKTU's boycott action came after the government and a close aide to President-elect Kim Dae-jung said the layoff bill will be rammed through the Assembly by tomorrow anyway. NCNP Threatens to Push Layoff Bill; President-Elect's Party Decides to Risk Clash with Labor Korea Herald 3.2.98 The NCNP's determination to take unilateral action immediately angered union leaders participating in the three-way consultative group. They threatened to take collective action against the NCNP's attempt to pass the bill without agreement from organized labor. Two major labor groups said that they will launch a general strike if the NCNP unilaterally tables the bill in the National Assembly. Two Kims Warn Against New Currency Crisis Without Quick Labor Reform Korea Times 3.2.98 Kim Dae-jung Sets Today as Deadline for Compromise With Labor Korea Times 3.2.98 S.Korea labor breaks off reform talks UPI 2.2.98 KCTU Threatens Partial Strike to Protest Layoff Bill Korea Herald 2.2.98 Note the error in article headline.

  • South Korea: the unions, the Net and the next general strike Labour Left Briefing February 1998

  • December Jobless Rate Reaches 54-Month High of 3.1 Percent Korea Herald 31.1.98

  • PICIS Newsletter: Dilemma of the Korean Working Class 26.1.98

    
    

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