Seoul Jung-gu Office - Labor Union Conflict Intensifies

Press Conference Held for Launch of Jung-gu Regional Countermeasures Committee to Resolve Union Suppression by Jung-gu Mayor and Achieve Legitimate Union Activities on the 28th

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seoul Jung-gu (District Mayor Seo Yang-ho) and the labor union are failing to resolve their conflict and are heading toward a steep path.

At 12 noon on the 28th, at the Jung-gu Office Fountain Plaza, labor organizations and civic groups in the Jung-gu area united to oppose labor union suppression and human rights violations during Mayor Seo Yang-ho's two-year tenure, announcing the launch of the 'Jung-gu Regional Countermeasures Committee' and resolving to take joint action.

The Seoul Jung-gu Office Civil Servants' Union (Chairman Jang Kyung-hwan) claimed that since Mayor Seo took office in July 2018, he has continuously ignored and belittled employees, issued impulsive and hasty work orders, attempted to collect IP addresses of all employees, and illegally surveilled the private civil servants' union SNS 'Junggucheong Nojo Band,' thereby committing ongoing human rights violations.

Furthermore, when employees dissatisfied with these conditions held picket protests, all union executives were disciplined, escalating labor union suppression and cronyism, bringing the labor-management conflict in Jung-gu Office to a peak. In particular, Mayor Seo has consistently refused all dialogue with the civil servants' union, maintaining an attitude of 'speaking only through orders, discipline, and rewards,' which was criticized. In response, the Jung-gu Office union judged that joint action with the local community and civil society was necessary and thus launched the Jung-gu Regional Countermeasures Committee.

Upon its launch, the committee declared it would employ all means, including filing public interest audits and information disclosure requests, to ensure that the Jung-gu Mayor fulfills his duties as a model employer through monitoring and checks, while also pledging to do its utmost to restore labor-management relations in solidarity with the Civil Servants' Union Jung-gu Branch.