Fair Trade Commission States "Hwamyul Solidarity is a Business Association" in Accusation Decision Document

Park Jae-seok, Secretary General of the Cargo Solidarity Union, is speaking at the "Press Conference Urging the Amendment of Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Act" held in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 13th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunju Lee] The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has filed charges against the Cargo Solidarity Headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Public Transport Workers' Union (Cargo Solidarity), explicitly designating Cargo Solidarity as a "business association."

According to the FTC on the 5th, the FTC stated in the decision to file charges against Cargo Solidarity that "Cargo Solidarity is an organization established for the purpose of promoting the common interests of business operators and is a business association as defined in Article 2, Clause 2 of the Fair Trade Act."

Earlier, when announcing the decision to file charges against Cargo Solidarity on the 18th of last month, the FTC had said, "This resolution is not intended to determine whether it qualifies as a business association." At that time, the FTC explained that since this charge decision pertains to Cargo Solidarity's "obstruction of investigation," the final judgment on its business association status would be made through the main investigation.

Previously, the FTC conducted on-site investigations three times last year to verify whether Cargo Solidarity coerced affiliated business operators to refuse transportation or obstructed other operators' transportation during the collective transportation refusal process. At that time, Cargo Solidarity blocked the building entrance and expressed refusal to cooperate with the investigation, causing the investigation to fail.

Accordingly, the FTC deliberated in subcommittee and plenary meetings whether to file charges against Cargo Solidarity for obstruction of investigation. During the meetings, discussions were held on whether punishment could be imposed only if Cargo Solidarity's status as a business association was proven.