▲ Chairman Kim Dong-myeong and Secretary-General Ryu Ki-seop as new executives of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions
On the followingnoon of the 17th, the 28th Chairman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions Kim Dong-myeong (left) and Secretary-General Ryu Gi-seop sing a song of the Korean Federation of Trade Unions at the regular electoral convention for the election of officers of the General Federation of Korean Trade Unions held at the Indoor Gymnasium in Jamsil, Songpa-gu, Seoul. 2023.1.17 Yonhap News
While the Yoon Seok-yeol government is promoting labor reform as a key national task, Kim Dong-myeong, chairman of the Korean Federation of Trade Unions, the ‘first trade union federation’, succeeded in re-election. All three candidates who ran this time tried to mobilize supporters with a pledge to ‘stop the deterioration of labor’, and Chairman Kim is considered to be one of the hardliners among them, so it is expected to have a great impact on future talks.
On the 17th, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions held a regular electoral convention to elect the 28th Executive Committee (Chairman and Secretary General) at the Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, and following the second round of voting, the symbol No. federation chairman) announced that the secretary-general candidate group was elected. It is the first time in 21 years since Chairman Lee Nam-soon was reappointed in 2002 that an incumbent chairman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions has succeeded in reappointment.
In this election, which was held in a three-way structure, 3724 out of 3940 registered voters participated, but in the first round, none of the three candidates received a majority of votes. 1369 votes (36.8%) of the candidate No. 1 Kim Man-jae and Hae-cheol Park, 1608 votes (43.2%) of the candidate No. 2 Kim Dong-myeong and Ki-seop Ryu, and 740 votes (19.9%) of the candidate No. Nullity was 7 votes.
▲ Members of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions voting
On the followingnoon of the 17th, members of the Korean Federation of Trade Unions are voting to elect the 28th chairman and secretary general at Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul. 2023.1.17 Yonhap News
In response, a second round of voting was immediately conducted for the first place candidates Kim Dong-myeong and Ryu Gi-seop and the second place Kim Man-jae and Park Hae-cheol, and as a result, Kim Dong-myeong’s candidate group won 1860 votes (52.4%), beating Kim Man-jae’s candidate group and winning the final election. Kim Man-jae’s candidate group received 1675 votes (47.2%) and was defeated by a margin of 185 votes.
In the previous election three years ago, candidate Kim Dong-myeong won once morest candidate Kim Man-jae by a margin of 50 votes, the smallest ever. In this election, the two candidates fought a close battle.
As all three teams have made common pledges to stop labor deterioration and declare a struggle, it seems that the government’s labor market policy reform will not be easy in the future. Chairman Kim, who is a hardliner and relatively progressive, views the labor reform of the Yoon government as ‘labor deterioration’, and has pledged to fully apply the Labor Standards Act to workplaces with less than 5 employees and expand the Severe Accident Punishment Act. He also emphasizes his opposition to the government’s pension reform.
The new executive will lead the union for the next three years.
Reporter Kim Jeong-hwa
