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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUL #0507/01 0450829
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 140829Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5998
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0076
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0159
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J2 SEOUL KOR
RHMFIUU/COMUSKOREA SCJS SEOUL KOR
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J5 SEOUL KOR
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC 1337

UNCLAS SEOUL 000507 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/K AND EB/TPP/BTA 
PASS USTR FOR CUTLER AND KI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ELAB ETRD KS PGOV
SUBJECT: LABOR SNAPSHOT: THE PLAYERS 
 
REF: A. 05 SEOUL 3772 
 
     ¶B. 05 SEOUL 5285 
     ¶C. SEOUL 14 
     ¶D. 05 SEOUL 638 
     ¶E. 05 SEOUL 3272 
     ¶F. 05 SEOUL 4969 
     ¶G. 05 SEOUL 2627 
     ¶H. 05 SEOUL 529 
     ¶I. 05 SEOUL 4819 
     ¶J. 05 SEOUL 4703 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY 
 
SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION 
------------------------ 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Upcoming U.S.-ROK FTA negotiations will include a 
close USG look at Korea's labor-management relations, a 
tumultuous sector charged with decades of conflict.  This is 
the first of three cables that will draw a contemporary 
portrait of industrial relations in the ROK.  This cable 
describes the main players that shape the labor debate:  the 
Ministry of Labor (MOL), the Korean Tripartite Commission 
(KTC), the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), the major union 
federations, and the major employer groups.  The second 
cable, "Labor Snapshot: The Issues," will provide  background 
on the two most controversial issues in labor today, the 
government's "irregular" worker legislation and its labor 
reform "roadmap."  A final report, "Labor Snapshot: Meeting 
the Standards," will analyze Korean law for compliance with 
the core labor standards set forth in the Trade Promotion 
Authority Act.  END SUMMARY. 
 
MINISTRY OF LABOR 
----------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Pushing reforms that pleased neither labor nor 
management, the MOL has been an embattled ministry over the 
past year.  The head of the ROK's largest labor federation 
recently admitted that labor-government relations "are at 
their worst since the establishment of the country."  Under 
Labor Minister Kim Dae-hwan, who stepped down on February 10, 
the linchpin of the Ministry's effort to promote a flexible 
labor market while protecting worker rights was a bill 
addressing contract, short-term, temporary and other 
"irregular" workers.  As will be discussed septel, organized 
labor raised strong objections to the bill and vilified 
Minister Kim and the MOL for promoting it.  Labor groups 
repeatedly called for Kim's ouster. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Organized labor groups have also criticized the MOL 
for being too pro-business.  Indeed, the Ministry under Kim 
Dae-hwan has been intolerant of illegal or unreasonable 
strikes.  For example, in August 2005, Minister Kim invoked 
emergency mediation to end a 25-day Asiana Airlines pilots 
strike (Ref A).  According to the Trade Unions and Labor 
Relations Adjustment Act (TULRAA), the Minister of Labor may 
invoke emergency adjustment for a labor dispute where 
industrial actions relate to a public service, are conducted 
on a large scale, pose an explicit threat to the national 
economy, or are highly likely to jeopardize people's daily 
life.  Once emergency mediation was invoked, the union had to 
proceed to mediation and return to work.  This action drew 
the unions' ire as it was only the third time in the ROK's 
history that the MOL had used its emergency mediation 
authority.  Kim then invoked it again, for the fourth time, 
in December 2005 to end a four-day Korea Airlines pilots 
strike (Ref B).  In both instances, Kim said that the pilots' 
strikes caused a very negative impact on Koreans' daily 
lives, as well as the national economy.  Organized labor's 
call for Kim's ouster grew even louder. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Kim resigned in February 2006 as part of a cabinet 
reshuffle and was replaced by Lee Sang-soo (Ref C).  Lee is a 
labor lawyer and former Uri Party lawmaker.  He appears so 
far to have a reasonably cordial relationship with organized 
labor.  Lee said upon his appointment that he would "strive 
to resume talks with unions.  I plan to visit the two leading 
labor federations soon and have heart-to-heart conversations 
with them."  Lee, however, has been hounded by questions 
regarding his fitness for office.  He had been arrested and 
jailed for one year in connection with illegal political 
donations he solicited as manager of President Roh's 2002 
presidential campaign. Meanwhile, prosecutors have opened a 
new investigation into false statements Lee allegedly made 
during a 2005 by-election campaign. 
 
KOREAN TRIPARTITE COMMISSION 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Korean Tripartite Commission (KTC) was formally 
established in 1999 as both a Presidential advisory body and 
a forum for social dialogue on labor-management issues.  Its 
primary objectives are to provide a forum for consultation, 
dialogue and compromise among the tripartite actors; to 
support socio-economic development by establishing healthy 
industrial relations based on social integration; and to 
realize participatory democracy by encouraging cooperation 
among labor, management and government.  To date, it has been 
credited with developing social consensus on a range of 
issues, such as legalization of teachers' unions, enhancing 
the social security system, shortening the workweek, and 
legalizing the public servants' union. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The KTC, however, has been hobbled by the failure 
of organized labor to participate fully (Ref D).  The Korean 
Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the more militant of 
Korea's two main labor federations, has refused to engage 
since 1999.  Though the more moderate Federation of Korean 
Trade Unions (FKTU) has participated in KTC proceedings, the 
FKTU does not represent the progressive core of the labor 
movement.  Moreover, the FKTU between July 2005 and January 
2006 joined the KCTU boycott of the KTC over accusations that 
the government was unresponsive to labor sentiment (Ref E). 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Perhaps recognizing the limits of the KTC, 
President Roh in October 2005 suggested the creation of a 
"Joint Conference for Unity of the People," which would 
convene with the participation of "representatives of 
economy, labor, civil social organizations, religion, 
farmers, women, specialists and political parties" to deal 
with economic and social issues, including labor-management 
relations (Ref F).  This idea is being developed in the Prime 
Minister's Office and, if realized, may subsume the functions 
of the KTC. 
 
TRADE UNIONS 
------------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Korea's unionization rate is relatively low and 
getting lower.  According to December 2005 government 
figures, which were based on 2004 data, the trade union 
organization rate was 10.6 percent.  Union membership has 
been in steady decline since its 1989 peak of 19.8 percent. 
The number of unions in 2004 also decreased from 2003 by 240 
to 6,107, and the number of union members decreased by 13,106 
to 1,537,000.  But this has not meant that Korea's unions 
have become more docile.  In general, Korean labor groups 
have been quick to escalate disputes and commonly resorted to 
work slowdowns, abuse of leave and disruption of business by 
holding rallies, wearing casual clothes, displaying protest 
signs at the workplace, or engaging in sit-in strikes.  In 
2005, a total of 228 strikes occurred between January and 
August, with 105,577 participating workers.  While these 
strikes resulted in 434,199 lost workdays, this represented 
only 43 percent of the previous year, which registered 
1,010,149 days lost during the same period.  But despite this 
trend of relatively shorter strikes, both the public and the 
government have become much less tolerant of strikes by the 
"union aristocracy," who, relative to the rest of the 
workforce, earn higher wages and enjoy better benefits and 
job security. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The FKTU and the KCTU are Korea's two major labor 
federations.  The government recognizes a range of other 
labor federations, including independent white-collar 
federations representing hospital workers, journalists, and 
office workers at construction firms and at government 
research institutes.  Labor federations not formally 
recognized by the labor ministry have also generally operated 
without government interference. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) FKTU:  The FKTU boasts 780,000 members and is 
considered to be relatively moderate.  It is comprised mainly 
of unions at small and medium sized enterprises.  The 
government helped establish FKTU in 1946 as the Korean Labor 
Federation for Independence Promotion (KLFIP) with the 
purpose of opposing pro-communist worker organizations.  In 
1960, the KLFIP became the FKTU and was the only 
legally-recognized union organization in the ROK, a status 
that it enjoyed through the 1990s.  Among progressive labor 
circles, the FKTU still carries a stigma for cooperating with 
the ROK's pre-democratization military regimes.  Although it 
tended to work through political dialogue and compromise, the 
FKTU took a more aggressive stance in June 2005 after a 
cement truck struck and killed an FKTU regional leader during 
a demonstration.  The FKTU blamed the government for the 
incident because the union representative placed himself in 
harm's way because of his opposition to the government's 
irregular worker legislation. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Over the past year, corruption scandals have 
plagued the FKTU (Ref G).  In May 2005, prosecutors indicted 
the former FKTU President Lee Nam-soon for accepting about 
USD 200,000 in kickbacks associated with the construction of 
a union welfare center.  Prosecutors indicted the FKTU 
Secretary-General on a related charge.  Although the FKTU 
 
SIPDIS 
launched a number of reform measures designed to increase 
union accountability and transparency, these scandals have 
shaken the public's confidence in the organization. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) KCTU:  With the recent addition of the 
140,000-member strong Korean Government Employees' Union, 
KCTU membership rolls approach 800,000.  Most KCTU members 
are workers at large enterprises.  Boasting roots in the 
ROK's democracy movement, the KCTU has been the more militant 
of the two major labor federations and accounts for over 80 
percent of all strikes.  After democratization, the ROK 
experienced a rapid increase in the number of unions, many 
forming in reaction to the "collaborationist" tendencies of 
the FKTU.  In the early 1990s, the National Council of Trade 
Unions, the Congress of Industrial Unions, and the Large 
Plant Union Organization merged into the National Council of 
Trade Union Delegates, which in 1995 became the KCTU.  It 
became a legally-recognized trade organization in 1998. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Like the FKTU, the KCTU has also been plagued by 
corruption scandals.  In January 2005, prosecutors charged 
KCTU leaders of a Kia Motor Corp. union with taking bribes 
from job applicants in exchange for employment (Ref H).  In 
February, prosecutors arrested the former head of the KCTU 
Kookmin Bank union on embezzlement charges.  In May, 
prosecutors arrested leaders of the Hyundai Motor union, 
KCTU's biggest member organization, on similar charges.   In 
October, KCTU Chairman Lee Soo-ho and the entire KCTU 
leadership stepped down following allegations that the Vice 
President had accepted about USD 80,000 in bribes from taxi 
driver unions (Ref I). 
 
¶14.  (SBU) The departure of the relatively moderate Chairman 
Lee left a leadership vacuum at the KCTU, with several 
factions vying for control.  A February 10 convention to 
elect a new chairman broke up without a vote.  Although 
another meeting is scheduled for February 21, insiders 
believe that hardliners, led by Lee Jung-hoon, may block a 
vote in that meeting in an effort to prevent the election of 
more conciliatory leaders. 
 
DEMOCRATIC LABOR PARTY 
---------------------- 
 
¶15.  (SBU) In January 2000, labor activists affiliated with 
the KCTU formed the Democratic Labor Party (DLP).  The new 
party, which built on an earlier affiliation of labor 
politicians called Peoples' Victory 21, fielded 21 candidates 
in the April 2000 National Assembly general elections, but 
failed to win any seats.  In the 2004 general elections, 
however, the DLP won 13.1 percent of the vote and 10 seats in 
the 299-seat National Assembly.  This was the first time that 
any labor party has won representation in the Assembly. 
Today, the DLP claims about 61,000 members and holds nine 
Assembly seats (one member had to give up his seat in 2005 
due to election law violations). 
 
¶16.  (SBU) The DLP has achieved mixed reviews on its 
performance in the Assembly.  While it has been successful in 
passing a bill granting further rights of public access to 
the disabled, it has achieved more notoriety for its 
obstructionist tactics in blocking legislation.  In 
particular, the DLP on several occasions prevented discussion 
of the government's labor reform legislation by physically 
blockading the National Assembly meeting room.  The DLP has 
also been tainted by the KCTU corruption scandals.  Many 
believe the scandals were a main reason for the DLP's October 
2005 by-election defeat in Ulsan, despite the region's strong 
union presence (Ref J).  On February 10, the DLP elected Moon 
Sung-hyun, the former head of the Korean Metalworkers 
Federation, as its president. 
 
EMPLOYER ORGANIZATIONS 
---------------------- 
 
¶17.  (SBU) There are five major employers' organizations in 
the ROK:  the umbrella Korean Employers Federation (KEF); the 
Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), which traditionally 
represents Korea's largest conglomerates (the "chaebol"); the 
larger Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), an 
omnibus organization historically espousing the views of 
small and medium-sized, as well as larger Korean firms; the 
Korea International Trade & Industry Association (KITA), a 
trade promotion agency; and the Korea Federation of Small and 
Medium Business (KFSB). 
 
¶18.  (SBU) Together, the five groups make up the Council of 
Korea Employers' Organizations (CKEO).  The KEF serves as the 
CKEO secretariat and is responsible for coordinating the 
opinions of the member organizations.  These employers' 
organizations generally do not participate in collective 
bargaining.  Instead, they tend to influence the more 
working-level Korean government policy-making agenda and also 
represent management views in Tripartite Commission and 
National Labor Relations Board discussions. 
VERSHBOW