The International Labor Organization (ILO) cited South Korea, along with Cambodia, Colombia, Philippines and Iran, as a country in which workers' right to assembly is not well guaranteed.

The ILO convened the 299th session of the governing body in Geneva on June 15 and approved the reports of the Committee on Freedom of Association citing the five countries as those that need special attention, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), an umbrella labor group, said in a press conference held in Seoul on 19 June.

According to an ILO press release, although South Korea have achieved "significant progress in terms of legislation, important problems persist with regard to the respect of freedom of association principles in practice."

The press release went on to say that "the Korea Government Employees’ Union (KGEU) has refused to register under the relevant Act because it considers it not to be in line with freedom of association principles." It added that the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association "requested the government to immediately cease all acts of interference."

The KCTU noted that the ILO commitee’s report last week was very much dedicated to the South Korean issue, with 84 pages out of the entire 387-page report detailing such cases of labor rights infringement.

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