Two Major Labor Federations: "Only Minju Nochong Excluded from 국민연금공단 Non-Executive Director"

Only 2 Appointments from Korean Federation of Trade Unions
"Cho Gyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare, Must Resign"

The Ministry of Health and Welfare is facing backlash from labor groups for excluding representatives from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU, Minju Chong) in the process of appointing non-standing directors to the National Pension Service.

On the 28th, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU, Hanguk Nochong) and the KCTU issued a joint statement saying, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare notified us on the 24th that only two non-standing directors recommended by the FKTU would be appointed to the National Pension Service," and claimed, "This excludes the KCTU from the pension service board, where each of the two major trade unions had previously participated with one member each."

They added, "This reveals how much the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and furthermore the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, disregard the two major trade unions and view the labor sector not as partners for dialogue but as targets for suppression."

Seoul Seodaemun-gu National Pension Service Seoul Northern Regional Office
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The National Pension Service board consists of four standing directors including the chairman and nine non-standing directors. The non-standing directors are composed of two representatives each recommended by employer, worker, regional subscriber, and beneficiary organizations, as well as ex officio officials from the Ministry of Health and Welfare. They are appointed by the Minister of Health and Welfare after going through the executive recommendation committee. Historically, the worker organization recommended one director each from the FKTU and the KCTU.

Last year, the government requested multiple recommendations for non-standing directors from the two major trade unions, and after several months, it reportedly notified that it would appoint only two directors recommended by the FKTU, excluding the KCTU recommended candidate.

According to labor sources, one of the two FKTU recommended directors has already expressed opposition and notified that they will not take the position as of the previous day. The two major trade unions are demanding an apology for the exclusion of labor representatives and are calling for the immediate resignation of Minister Cho Kyu-hong of the Ministry of Health and Welfare.