Kyunghwan Sohn: "Labor-Management Cooperation Is Essential to Overcome Economic Crisis"

The 37th Korea Labor-Management Cooperation Awards Ceremony
Emart, Lotte World, Hyundai Elevator, and Ulsan Aluminum Honored

"Labor-management cooperation is an essential condition for responding to rapidly changing industrial structures and overcoming economic crises."

Kyunghwan Sohn, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation (KEF), emphasized this point at the 37th Korea Labor-Management Cooperation Awards ceremony held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul on May 8.

Chairman Sohn diagnosed the current economic situation as a crisis. He stated, "Recently, our economy has faced significant difficulties, such as negative growth in the first quarter, as the slowdown in exports and sluggish consumption have intensified." He added, "It is also difficult to be optimistic about the future economy due to many uncertainties, including U.S. tariff policies."

He continued, "Labor-management cooperation is more important than ever to overcome such crises," and added, "KEF will support more companies so that they can grow based on cooperative labor-management relations."

Kyunghwan Sohn, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation. Provided by KEF

Since establishing the Korea Labor-Management Cooperation Awards in 1989, KEF has annually selected and honored companies that have achieved growth and development through labor-management cooperation. This year, the grand prize in the large enterprise category was awarded to Emart and Lotte World, while the excellence award went to Hyundai Elevator. In the mid-sized and small enterprise category, Ulsan Aluminum received the grand prize. These companies have maintained a long-standing record of no labor disputes or strikes through consistent communication and cooperation between labor and management.

Chairman Sohn said, "The award-winning companies have created safe workplaces, achieved zero labor disputes, and increased employment, setting an example at industrial sites. They have also actively participated in social contribution activities, such as sharing with local communities and supporting vulnerable groups, serving as role models."

Finally, he emphasized, "We will closely communicate with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions to discover and promote outstanding cases of labor-management cooperation, and we will make greater efforts to spread a culture of cooperative labor-management relations."