hankyoreh

Two Philippine citizens who had been working for Korean companies in the Philippines recently came to Korea to ask the Korean government to prevent Korean businessmen from carrying out illegal labor practices. One of them was wrongfully terminated when he joined in an effort to form a union, while the other lost his job when the company fought an attempt to establish a union by shutting down operations. Two women who had been part of a sit-in protest at their company were reportedly thrown from a vehicle on a highway.

It is shameful that we are seeing a recurrence overseas of the oppression Korean workers faced decades ago. Laborers in counties with slower economic development have the same basic rights. Korean businesspeople who forget this give themselves and other Korean companies doing business overseas a bad name. The Philippines are not the only place this is a problem. Human rights groups say that there are many places where Korean companies are still unable to leave behind the pre-modern framework of labor management. Basic labor rights, like the right to assemble, are frequently ignored, and in some cases workers face verbal and physical abuse. “Labor management” at some Korean companies is frequently “militaristic.”

Korea is a member state in OECD, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, often referred to as the “developed nations’ club.” The OECD’s “Guidelines on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises” calls for companies that have their main offices in Korea to apply Korean law toward their overseas operations. This is why the two Filipinos have come to Korea to ask our government for assistance. The government should not think it can write them off just because the OECD guidelines are nonbinding. The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment and a labor court in that country have both ruled that the union at the company in question was legitimate, but the company has refused to engage it in collective bargaining for over a year. How serious it must have been for them to come all the way to Korea!

Bad behavior on the part of some Korean businesspeople gives Korea a bad image. We stand to lose a lot if we do not do something about their greed. In serious cases it could lead to diplomatic conflict. The government must not sit back and do nothing. It should work hard to correct the situation, starting with surveying human rights violations at Korean companies overseas. This is not something that would be completely irresolvable if the government made itself aware of the problem and ordered Korean diplomatic missions to do something about it. It is becoming ever harder to do business anywhere while ignoring universal human rights. Koreans doing business in other countries need to realize this.
Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]