Yoon blasts unions for a second day, warning against illegal acts

Politics

Published: 21 Feb. 2023, 17:56 Updated: 21 Feb. 2023, 19:15

Yoon blasts unions for a second day, warning against illegal acts

President Yoon Suk Yeol at his cabinet meeting on Tuesday comments on the labor unions and their refusal to disclose accounting. [YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk Yeol doubled down on his hard-line stance against unions, warning against illegal actions by these groups, especially those in construction.

The comments come just one day after he said the government will deny unions financial support if they don't open their books.

“We can’t call it a country if violence and illegal acts are neglected,” Yoon said on Tuesday in starting his weekly cabinet meeting. “We have to make a concentrated inspection and crackdown and take stern action according to the law if illegal acts are found.”

Yoon noted that unions are using their authority to commit illegal acts, including demanding the private companies pay under the table, forcing employment of union workers and obstructing construction.

“As a result, workers are losing jobs, construction is defective and the opening of an elementary school and new apartment are being delayed,” Yoon said. “The damage is passed on to the people.”

President Yoon again pressured the labor unions to disclose their accounting records.

“The start of a labor reform is strengthening the transparency of labor accounting,” Yoon said. “In the past five years, more than 150 billion won ($115.7 million) of government support has been spent, and yet the labor unions have not submitted their accounting books while resisting as an organization.”

“As there is a substantial tax credit on union dues, the labor union operation fund is practically financed by people’s taxes,” Yoon said. “This is separate to the 150 billion won mentioned earlier.”

“It is difficult for the people paying the taxes to accept the continuing of fiscal support of labor unions that refuse to make their accounting transparent,” Yoon added.

According to the president’s office, President Yoon has ordered the government departments, including the police, the prosecutor office, the Land Ministry and the Labor Ministry to cooperate in cracking down any form of organized illegal activities committed on construction sites, such as extortion and violence.

“These crackdowns shouldn’t be temporary,” Yoon said during the meeting. “We should firmly uphold the rule of law on the construction sites through strict crackdowns until this violence ends.”

The president’s office noted that President Yoon has emphasized properly setting up the constitution’s fundamental order as this year’s priority. And that the normalization of labor activity is the first step.

“If the fundamental constitutional order of a free market economy is not protected, in addition to economic development, companies will not be properly evaluated,” Yoon said. “When labor unions are normalized, the value of companies increase, capital markets develop and more jobs could be created.”

“To protect the capitalist market economy, which the people have achieved through difficult efforts, fair competition has to be realized,” Yoon said. “We have to create a proper market economy system where labor unions act as a labor unions and businesses act as businesses.”

He also pointed out that the acts committed by the labor unions today are robbing the hopes and future of young people.

“If the labor union, which has immense influence on companies and industries, are not backed up by transparent accounting and are corrupted, all business ecosystems, including business supply systems, will be distorted.”

Federation of Trade Unions president Kim Dong-myeong claimed that the government was the one that is refusing to talk with the labor union.

“In a soured marriage, if the husband demands the wife to bring the accounting books and interrogate the spending, could a conversation be made?” asked Kim rhetorically on Tuesday while meeting with the government’s Economic, Social and Labor Council.

“The important thing is not to interrogate but to show respect to the other person,” Kim said.

The union leader said striking up a conversation on social issues and agenda are secondary. First the government needs to recognize its counterpart.

“A long time has passed, and we have fallen apart that much,” Kim added. “While we can’t reverse the time that has gone by, we should try to mend the relationship.

“However, it feels like we’re being pushed to a situation where we are on both sides of a river that can’t be crossed.”

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