Major Labor Unions Hold Rainy Labor Day Rallies Calling for Labor Rights and Major Social Reform

KCTU: "General Strike in July for Labor Rights and Public Interest"
FKTU: "Major Social Transformation Centered on Labor"

On Labor Day, labor organizations such as the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) held commemorative rallies in downtown Seoul.

On the afternoon of May 1st, Labor Day, a participant is shouting slogans in front of the statue of General Choi Yunduk in Seongsan District, Changwon, Gyeongnam, at the "2025 World Labor Day Gyeongnam Rally." Photo by Yonhap News

At 2:30 p.m. on May 1, the KCTU held the "2025 World Labor Day Rally" in front of Sungnyemun in Jung-gu, calling for the guarantee of labor rights and a major social reform. Despite the spring rain, participants held up placards with slogans such as "Eradicate Insurrectionist Forces," "Secure Fundamental Labor Rights," and "Achieve Major Social Reform," while using umbrellas or wearing raincoats.

Yang Kyungsoo, president of the KCTU, said, "Let us organize a general strike in July to win labor rights and public interest," and added, "We must protect low-wage workers by raising the minimum wage, and secure the right to organize by amending the Trade Union Act." He continued, "We need to ensure that specially employed platform workers are recognized as workers, and create a world where people can work safely without precarious employment or intermediary exploitation." He also stated, "Let us impose taxes on the wealthy and strengthen welfare for ordinary people, thereby reinforcing the state's responsibility in healthcare, care services, education, and the public sector."

Earlier, KCTU-affiliated industrial unions such as the Construction Workers' Union and the Public Transport Workers' Union held preliminary rallies near Sungnyemun and Seoul Station before joining the main event. By around 3 p.m., the main rally had drawn an estimated 30,000 participants according to organizers (17,000 according to unofficial police estimates). After the rally, participants split into two groups and marched north toward Gwanghwamun Plaza.

On May 1st, Labor Day, the 2025 World Labor Day Rally, hosted by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), is taking place near Sungnyemun in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

The FKTU also held the "World Labor Day FKTU National Workers' Rally" around Dongsipjagak in Jongno-gu at 2 p.m. on the same day. As of 3 p.m., organizers estimated 30,000 participants (10,000 according to unofficial police estimates). In his opening speech, FKTU President Kim Dongmyung said, "For a major social transformation centered on labor, we will engage in bold dialogue with the next administration and proactively lead social dialogue." He added, "We will completely overhaul the labor-deteriorating systems that have been operated through various regulatory abuses and expedient measures during three years of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration."

Subsequently, the FKTU resolved to launch an all-out struggle, stating, "We can never accept the failure of reform tasks such as applying the Labor Standards Act to all citizens, extending the retirement age to respond to a super-aged society, abolishing long working hours through a four-day workweek, and strengthening fundamental labor rights through amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Act and the expansion of collective agreement effectiveness, from crossing the threshold of a new era."

On May 1st, Labor Day, participants shout slogans at the "135th World Labor Day National Workers' Rally" hosted by the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) held in front of Gwanghwamun Dongsipjagak in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

Disability rights groups, including the Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (Jeon Jang Yeon), also held rallies on Labor Day. Around 1 p.m., they held a resolution rally in front of Myeongdong Cathedral and then marched to Sungnyemun to join the KCTU rally.

Meanwhile, the National School Irregular Workers' Solidarity Council, which had been on an 11-day hunger strike in front of the Government Seoul Complex, held a press conference that day and announced the end of the hunger strike, stating that their demand for "efforts to resolve the low-wage structure of school irregular workers" had been adopted as an official policy task by the Democratic Party's presidential campaign, among other achievements.