Yoon reiterates stance on unions, this time via YouTube shorts

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Yoon reiterates stance on unions, this time via YouTube shorts

President Yoon Suk Yeol talks with public servant in Sejong on Feb. 7. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

President Yoon Suk Yeol talks with public servant in Sejong on Feb. 7. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

 
President Yoon Suk Yeol again strongly emphasized the government’s role in cracking down on illegal acts committed by labor unions.
 
“It’s not a government or a country if we ignore violence and threats committed at workplaces,” Yoon said. “The most important part of labor reform is the rule of law.”  
 
The president’s comments were made on Feb. 7 when he met with 150 public servants, 70 of them millennials. The comments were released by the president’s office on Sunday through via YouTube shorts.  
 
“A society where there’s a huge difference in wages is not normal,” Yoon said, noting that union workers get paid more than others. “We have to work to change the system to be more fair and just.”  
 
“There would be nothing that private company management could do if the government allows illegal acts such as labor union top officials hiring their own children and then selling the vacant spots to others.”  
 
The president stressed that changes won’t happen through compromise with existing forces.  
 
“We don’t deserve to receive the taxes that people pay if we fail to normalize the work places where violence, threats and blackmail thrive,” Yoon said. “To make people live a better life, we have to have the courage to regulate and dismantle cartels and rent-seeking.”  
 
Yoon has taken a hardline against labor unions since taking office.  
 
The administration immediately demonstrated its stern attitude toward illegal strikes in a standoff against unionized Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering subcontractors.
 
It warned that they would send in the police if the strike continued and further damaged the economy.
 
The strike ended after 51 days on July 22.  
 
The shipbuilder estimated the damages from the strike at 800 billion won.  
 
The cargo trucker union strike ended in December after harsh warnings from the government, including threats of legal action if the truck drivers didn’t return to their jobs as ordered.
The truck drivers had been demanding that a guaranteed income system that was temporary be made permanent and cover more types of trucking.  
 
The government denied the requests.  
 
If the truck drivers did not comply, they could face a fine of up to 30 million won or up to three years in jail.  
 
The Korea Confederation of Trade Unions, the more militant of the two labor groups, has been losing public support amid deepening concerns about the decelerating economy.  
 
Even a Seoul subway strike that the confederation was pushing for last year failed to gain public support.  
 
Yoon’s poll numbers rose since his hardline stance against the cargo trucker strike.  
 
During the meeting that was disclosed on Sunday, Yoon also emphasized his administration’s intensified crackdown against drugs.  
 
“People that are worse than thugs are involved in the distribution of drugs,” Yoon said. “And that is why it is difficult to apprehend such drug criminals without self-sacrifice and determination.”  
 
He also mentioned the government’s role in supporting Korean companies, especially those expanding abroad.  
 
“Because we have the global competitiveness in semiconductors, shipbuilding and automobiles, we are treated with respect,” Yoon said. “Business is representative of a nation’s power.”  
 
He also showed his lighter side during the meeting.
 
When an employee from the Food and Drug Safety Ministry requested that President Yoon participate in a campaign that would promote less salt consumption, the president responded that while he agrees that too much salt isn’t good for anyone’s health, he personally thinks people should eat what they enjoy.  
 
 
 

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]
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