Ruling Party and Government "Push for Full Lift of Foreign Workforce Employment Restrictions at Construction Sites"

"Gangsters' Turf War
Also Improving Construction Union Accounting Transparency"

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong is delivering opening remarks at the Civil, Party, and Government Council for Regulatory Reform in Construction Sites held at the National Assembly on the 20th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Hyunju Lee and Youngwon Kim] On the 20th, the People Power Party and the government held the 'Construction Site Regulatory Reform Party-Government Council' at the National Assembly, announcing plans to fully lift restrictions on the employment of foreign workers while also stating that they will closely examine issues found in the accounting of the Construction Workers' Union. This council is part of the labor reforms promoted by the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, and the party and government plan to prepare measures for related legal improvements in the future.

Seong Il-jong, the Policy Committee Chair of the People Power Party, said at a press meeting after the council, "Unions are using illegal hiring of foreigners as leverage to intimidate business owners, demanding money and union member employment based on this," adding, "We agreed that lifting restrictions on foreign labor employment is appropriate. We decided to push for a full removal of these restrictions."

Seong also added, "We must protect jobs that our citizens must do and cannot be entrusted to foreigners, so each association will develop and operate domestic worker-centered training programs."

He also expressed intentions to amend laws related to the installation of tower cranes at construction sites. Seong pointed out, "Currently, equipment (tower cranes) cannot be brought in without union consent," and criticized, "Allowing tower cranes only for union members is illegal."

Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, criticized the large union federations for acting like 'illegal manpower companies.'

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik, and Policy Committee Chairman Seong Il-jong are attending the Civil-Government-Party Council on Construction Site Regulatory Reform held at the National Assembly on the 20th, exchanging greetings. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Minister Won referred to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), saying, "It's like gangsters fighting over territories," and added, "All the sites where these territorial disputes happen are illegal, but I think we need to create clear grounds and sanction clauses in the law that can be enforced without complicated reporting procedures under the Employment Procedure Act."

He continued, "In the case of the Construction Workers' Union, it is both a union and a business operator," explaining, "The Fair Trade Commission will make a binding decision tomorrow at its plenary session regarding the monthly fees collected at construction sites."

He also said, "Currently, union loopholes have become a sanctuary, and there has never been an external audit, so we need to consider how to ensure transparency," adding, "The structure where the monthly fees collected by the Construction Workers' Union are passed on to (real estate) prices must be changed."