Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation: "If the Labor Union Act is amended, companies will move overseas"

Concern Letter Delivered to All 300 Members of the National Assembly

Representatives of six major economic organizations, including Sohn Kyung-shik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, held a press conference opposing the amendment of the Labor Union Act at the National Assembly Communication Hall on the 2nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Son Kyung-sik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, requested all 300 members of the National Assembly to block the amendment to the Labor Union Act ahead of the plenary session.

The Korea Employers Federation announced on the 24th that it delivered a letter from Chairman Son expressing the business community's concerns about the amendment to the Labor Union Act.

In the letter, Chairman Son stated, "The amendment drags the primary contractors into the labor-management relations of subcontractors and restricts the right to claim damages for illegal strike actions. Given that domestic industries are composed of multi-tiered collaboration systems by sector such as automobile, shipbuilding, and construction, if the bill passes, strike actions will occur regularly against primary contractors, causing the industrial ecosystem between primary and subcontractors to collapse."

He added, "Most cases where labor union members were held liable for damages occurred during workplace occupations. If, as in the amendment, the right of the victimized employers to claim damages is effectively blocked, the industrial sites will become lawless zones."

He argued that if damages against labor unions are problematic, actions such as workplace occupations should be addressed first. Chairman Son earnestly requested, "For the development of labor-management relations in our country, rather than granting impunity for illegal acts, please support legal and institutional improvements to establish a reasonable labor-management culture, including prohibiting workplace occupations." He warned, "If the amendment passes, companies will inevitably relocate overseas or reduce their operations due to damages caused by labor disputes, and the resulting harm will fall on workers of small and micro enterprises whose jobs are threatened, as well as future generations."