Ha Tae-kyung: "The Two Major Labor Unions Are New Privileges... The Economic and Social Council Must Be Reorganized"

Proposal to Restructure the Economic and Social Council by MZ Union, etc.
"If the Federation of Korean Trade Unions Declares Self-Purification, Government Will Engage in Dialogue"

On the 9th, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, proposed reorganizing the Economic, Social and Labor Council (ESLC). He suggested expanding representation and diversity in the labor sector by encouraging participation from non-regular workers' unions and MZ (Millennial + Generation Z) unions.

In an interview with KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs' on the same day, Ha said, "From the government's perspective, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) are a kind of new vested interest," adding, "They are groups wielding significant influence in our society, not weak groups but vested interest groups."

Ha stated, "The FKTU and KCTU mostly consist of regular workers and large corporations, and it is easier to organize these workers," and "there are groups representing non-regular workers and those in their 20s and 30s with new values." He continued, "Although it cannot be reflected arithmetically exactly, if the existing two major unions held 50-50 shares, reducing that to 25-25 and allocating 25 to non-regular workers and 25 to MZ unions would more balancedly represent the labor strata."

Ha Tae-kyung, member of the People Power Party. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Regarding concerns that representation issues might arise, he said, "We need to discuss it," adding, "Since new unions such as subway unions are emerging, the National Assembly and civic groups should submit opinions, and this process will lead to the rebirth of the FKTU and KCTU."

When asked if the labor-government relationship might worsen due to the FKTU's non-participation in the ESLC, he responded, "We must strive to resolve it." Ha explained, "We are not hostile to the entire labor sector but critical of illegality and violence," and "Union members affiliated with those groups should be respected as our citizens, and we support their rights and welfare."

He added, "The FKTU leadership is moving too far away from public sentiment. Who among the public thinks illegal violence should be tolerated? Claims that even if illegal violence occurred, we did nothing wrong and the government is at fault cannot be accepted at all."

Ha said, "The majority of our party members hold the position that no one should tolerate illegality and violence," and argued, "If the FKTU declares a self-purification pledge that it will no longer engage in illegal or violent protests, then dialogue will proceed smoothly thereafter."