Chaos within KCTU

The labor union of Ssangyong Motors has confirmed its intent to leave the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the second largest umbrella trade union in the country.

An overwhelming majority of the company’s workers voted for a resolution yesterday to withdraw from the national trade organization.

In the process, the union became the first of Korea’s automobile unions to officially vow to sever relations with the powerful KCTU.

Industrial trade unions have shown some signs of pending collapse in recent years, and this is the latest example of that trend.

There’s a primary reason behind it: The KCTU has focused its efforts on waging a political war rather than promoting the protection of workers’ rights and interests.

So the erosion of the organization’s member base should be expected, as union members don’t feel that their needs are being met.

At the same time, it is extremely deplorable that the KCTU is bullying members that are poised to withdraw from the organization, hoping to coerce them into staying. Along these lines, the umbrella trade union is resorting to immature actions, such as threatening to impose disciplinary measures on unions and members considering a defection.

The KCTU should ponder the essence of the problem - its own actions, rather than that of its members - before browbeating other labor unions. The current crisis facing the umbrella trade union derives from the fact that it is stocked with leaders who espouse left-leaning political ideologies.

If the organization continues to ignore this rapidly growing crisis and continues to overlook changes in public opinion, it will certainly lead to self-destruction.