hankyoreh

At a representatives’ meeting held Jan. 28, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) selected Kim Young-hoon as its new chairman, who is a railway worker and former head of the Korean Transport Workers’ Union. Kim, who will be leading the organization for the next three years, is a young labor activist in his early 40s. On his shoulders is the task of breathing new air into the KCTU as it enters its fifteenth year and restoring the organization to its previously-held standing.


Recovering the KCTU’s past standing is not only an issue of interest to its members. The KCTU was launched with the goals of not only guaranteeing the labor conditions for humane living, but also working toward gender equality and a better life for South Koreans through social reforms, as well as democracy and unification. During these years, it has served the people in an effort to meet these goals as a major pillar for forces for democracy and progressive values. Given this standing, reforms in KCTU have great potential to breathe vitality into other social movements. This is the weight of responsibility on the shoulders of the new leadership.

However, solving the issues that face KTCU will not be simple. Internally, factional conflict is a major issue, and was evident during the latest election process. Kim cannot fully extricate himself from this problem, as he was himself elected based on support from certain factions, but he must focus his energies on channeling this conflict into constructive debate and criticism. Other major goals he must aim for include unity between regular and irregular workers and between union members from different trades.


Equally important is the eradication of improper practices within the organization. The first task will be bringing a proper resolution to the sexual harassment incident involving senior executives that caused such a great controversy last year. The incident remains clearly unresolved even as another year has begun amid internal strife and indifference. Showing a clear determination to eliminate improprieties is also important in terms of gaining trust from the outside.


Reestablishing the goals of the KCTU’s activity as an umbrella union is another necessary step toward gaining outside trust and support. There are several reasons behind the decline in the KCTU’s standing, but one of them is the impression it has given that it is an organization only for regular workers. It now needs to instill confidence that its activities will bring benefits to neglected strata of society and, beyond that, to ordinary citizens. If it can gain this kind of trust and support, KCTU’s standing will gain in strength as a matter of course.


The KCTU is an organization that played a major role in the democratization struggle, and many both inside and outside the confederation are hoping that it will once again reclaim this role. We hope the new leadership can meet these expectations and achieve meaningful reforms.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]