We would like to thank the ELSAC for its continued attention and solidarity towards the workers movement, workers rights and industrial relations of Korea.

After liberation from Japanese rule in 1945, Korea went through long periods of military dictatorship until 1990’s, during which it accomplished abrupt economic development centered around large family-run conglomerations, or jaebols as we say in Korean, and collusion between corporations and politicians. In the 1980’s students and workers struggled vigorously for social and union democratization, and as a result of these struggles, we were able to establish a democratic government and a confederation of democratic unions - the KCTU. We also now have the Democratic Labour Party, and it succeeded in getting 10 worker parliamentarians elected into the National Assembly.

Korea became a member of the OECD in 1996, and the entire nation has been putting in utmost effort into further developing the economy. The size of the Korean economy now records tenth worldwide. However, it is regrettable that, regardless of the national income index or size of economy, the lives of working people have not been substantially improved. Basic labour rights of workers, who are the direct producers of society, still fall far short of internationally accepted labour standards. Infringement of basic labour rights, which eventually led to Special Monitoring by the OECD TUAC, is only getting worse, despite some improvements that were made for the sake of formality.

Presently, the Korean government is promoting and publicizing to the international community its Special Act on Public Servants Trade Unions and its ‘Improvement of Industrial Relations’ (the so-called ‘Roadmap’) as main ‘reformative’ measures. However, the government did not undergo substantial consultation about the Special Act on Public Servants Trade Unions with the Korean Government Employees Union, who are the actual party concerned under this law. The government went ahead and legislated the law last December, and went further to penalize or dismiss 1,400 government workers who justly fought for their union and their basic rights. Even now, Kim Young-Ghil, the president of KGEU, and other union leaders are imprisoned while the government continues to refuse to recognize the union. Under this reality, we can only say that the government’s statement that legislation of this Special Act is a ‘reform’ is simply deceptive.

Furthermore, the ‘Roadmap in Improvement of Industrial Relations’ has not gone through consultation with KCTU nor with other trade unions. Indeed, it is merely a proposal at this stage. However, it needs to be clearly pointed out that this proposal is extremely disadvantageous to workers. It adopts the term “management’s right to counteract”, alleviates conditions for lay-offs and limits the scope of collective action, just to mention a few of the problems.

Repression against union members, including imprisonment, still prevails. The number of workers who were indicted last year was 121. We can also see the extent of indictment and imprisonment during the last few years if we look at the fact that the number of workers who requested amnesty from the Minister of Justice April last year amounted to more than 2,400.

Suing union members for obstruction of business and filing for damage compensation and provisional seizure of wages and property on the basis of union activity also continue. As of January 2004, the total amount of damage compensation and provisional seizure records more than 110 million US dollars across 41 workplaces. These repressive lawsuits drove many workers to their deaths - Bae Dal-ho of Doosan Heavy Industries, Kim Joo-ik of Hanjin Heavy Industries, Lee Hae-nam of Sewon Tech, just to name a few. However, no effort is being made to solve this problem. What is more deplorable, however, is that among the total amount of filed damage compensation and provisional seizure, that of the public sector records 30.4%, totaling 33.5 million US dollars in 5 workplaces. This alone manifests that the government itself has no will to solve this problem of unjust lawsuits, which severely limit freedom of association.

Another issue is the problem of ‘essential public services’. The Korean government has promised to the international community several times that it will make relevant reforms, however, no actions have been taken. Last year, the strike of subway workers was criminalized by ex officio arbitration. Riot police was sent in to forcefully break the strike and union leaders were arrested. In the case of LG Caltex, which is a chemical company, the workers’ strike was prescribed illegal, and the workers had to undergo arrests and physical suppression by riot police. As a result, the union had no choice but to secede from the KCTU. These are just some of many cases that prove that the Korean government has not been implementing any of the recommendations made by the OECD Special Monitoring Process.

The most serious problem of all is the abrupt flexibilization of the labour market and the problems resulting from it. During the last few years, 56% of the workforce had been turned into irregular workers, such as fixed-term, short-term, dispatched, contract or specially employed workers. These workers work for only a set period as stipulated in their employment contracts, and thus they suffer from constant job insecurity, receive only half of regular wages, and are excluded from social benefits. If they form a trade union to improve their working conditions, their contracts are immediately breached and they are laid off. In the case of indirectly employed dispatch workers, they suffer loss of wage from middle exploitation. Even if workers somehow do manage to form a trade union, the companies refuse to hold themselves responsible, and thus the workers end up with no counterpart to negotiate with. Moreover, companies illegally employ dispatch workers in jobs that forbid such employment. However, even though courts have ruled against these kinds of employment, the government has not taken any action to correct such practices. Of course, all of these problems were to be expected ever since companies started to do away with regular workers and use irregular workers, who would receive less pay and be deprived of their rights to a trade union.

The Korean government continues to ignore unjust industrial relations and refuses to recognize trade unions as its partner. It does not attempt to rectify nor supervise illegal employment. It would merely determine industrial action to be illegal and immediately send in riot police to break the strike at the request of the management. The Ministry of Labour, which should be on the side of workers, has lost its balance and acts on behalf of employers. The government has gone as far as to stimulate broad resistance because it is now trying to pass a bill that aims to increase irregular workers. (Last year in November, the KCTU stopped the bill from begin legislated by a general strike of 150,000 workers. On 1^st April this year, the KCTU implemented another warning political strike to stop the government’s bill and to push for an alternative bill. The KCTU is also trying to form consensus through tripartite negotiations.) This bill is so draconian in content, that even the National Human Rights Commission criticized that the bill falls far short of eliminating discrimination towards irregular workers, and that it will merely worsen social polarization. It recommended that the government revise the clauses on fixed-term workers and on dispatch workers. Trade unions have tried to solve this problem through a tripartite negotiation, however, we have not yet been able to come to an agreement.

The reason I am explaining the problems of industrial relations and of the labour market in Korea at length, is to ask for your understanding and solidarity. During the last few years, TUAC and ELSAC had repeatedly recommended that the Korean government, as a member of the OECD, revise relevant labour laws so as to conform to international standards. However, there has not been substantial ‘reform’ to Korean industrial relations nor to labour laws.

In conclusion, the Korean government has not kept the promise it made when it joined the OECD - that it will “reform labour laws to conform to internationally recognized standards”. Solidarity and monitoring by the international community is an effective way to pressure the Korean government to act upon its promise.

I would like to request once again that the ELSAC continue its Special Monitoring Process in order to make sure that the Korean government, as a member of the international community, takes appropriate measures to guarantee autonomous industrial relations.

Thank you very much.