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ILO director-general

By Jeon Jong-hwi, staff reporter

The director-general of the International Labour Organization (ILO) suggested an inspection team may be sent to South Korea to examine the labor rights situation.

“Instead of going in the right direction, South Korea appears to be going backwards,” ILO director-general Guy Ryder said at a June 6 meeting with Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) president Shin Seung-chul and Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) secretary-general Lee Byung-kun.

Ryder’s quotes were conveyed on June 8 by the KCTU and FKTU, which said Ryder made explicit reference to the South Korean government’s rejection of the Korean Government Employees’ Union establishment notice, its notification revoking the Korean Teachers’ and Education Workers’ Union’s legal status, its refusal to recognize migrant workers’ unions, its recent arrest of KCTU secretary-general Yoo Ki-soo, and a series of human and labor rights violations stemming from Samsung’s no-union policy.

“After making some advancements [in basic labor rights] thanks to efforts by the international community, South Korea is moving backward under the current administration,” Ryder was quoted as saying.

The two labor federations requested the deployment of a team to investigate labor right suppressions in South Korea, to which Ryder reportedly replied, “It’s possible once a conclusion is given by the Committee on Freedom of Association or the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards.”

“We can expect a positive result,” he reportedly added.

The federations also reported Ryder as saying, “Another idea would be to set up an occasion for me to visit personally.”

The ILO Conference Committee on the Application of Standards is expected to produce a ruling around June 10.

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