hankyoreh

Members of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union have their heads shaved during a protest against the government’s decision to revoke the union’s legal status

The European Union appears set to demand intergovernmental discussions on Seoul’s failure to implement the terms of international labor rights agreements included in the South Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement (KOREU FTA).

Analysts predicted the move, which stems from Seoul’s failure to abide by international labor rights standards, could also impact its bilateral trade negotiations.

A Mar. 27 press release by the European Parliament reported that the Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA), in an assessment of the five years since the KOREU FTA took effect, approved a resolution stating that the European Commission called for discussions with the South Korean government on enforcement of labor rights and international standards, expressing hopes that issues with bilateral trade and investment relations could be resolved before they become more serious.

The press release also quoted members of the European Parliament as saying the international labor rights agreements with South Korea had not achieved the anticipated results, noting there are still cases of detained labor leaders and infringements on freedom of association, including involvement in collective agreements. This was an apparent reference to the South Korean government’s 2015 arrest of Korean Confederation of Trade Unions president Han Sang-gyun on charges of organizing a popular indignation rally and issuance of an amendment decree on labor-management collective agreements.

In establishing their FTA in 2010, South Korea and the EU established a forum for “trade and sustainable development,” including labor and environmental issues. As part of the agreement, South Korea pledged to execute its duties as an International Labour Organization (ILO) member and ratify and abide by key ILO agreements effectively recognizing freedom of association and collective bargaining and banning forced labor, discrimination, and child labor. The South Korean government has put off ratifying the agreement on freedom of association due to the law failing to guarantee the three basic labor rights for certain groups, such as civil servants and teachers, and the agreement banning forced labor because of the Military Service Act, which allows for substitution of mandatory military service with service in industry functions. Indeed, Seoul has drawn criticism for its perceived steps backward with freedom of association, as when it revoked the official status of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union.

The Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development provides a forum for the two sides to review mutual abidance of the terms in the agreement, while a separate Civil Society Forum was established with representatives from labor, management, public interest groups, and NGOs to advise on enforcement of the agreement. But terms also stipulate that one side can demand “intergovernmental discussions” with the other if the provisions are not upheld. In the event that the discussions do not produce a conclusion, the recommendations of an “expert panel” are to be accepted.

With its request that the European Commission hold intergovernmental talks with South Korea, the European Parliament appears to have stepped up pressure on Seoul in response to its failure to make due ratification efforts.

But a source with the presiding Ministry of Employment and Labor stated that there were “no restriction measures in connection with the ‘forum for sustainable development.’”

“It states that we are to work toward ratification of key agreements, but you can’t turn not making efforts into a trade dispute,” the source said.

“In the case of the KOREU FTA in particular, South Korea has an adverse balance, so it does not appear that the EU will be using that to present us with unfavorable conditions,” the source added.

A South Korean expert participating in the Civil Society Forum noted, “South Korea has an adverse balance anyway in terms of bilateral trade, so it’s actually in an unfavorable position for negotiations because it hasn’t abided by the labor-related agreements it agreed to observe.”

Hanshin University international relations professor Lee Hae-young said the sustainable development forum “was included in the interest of upholding a global standard in connection with labor rights, not simply for trade in goods.”

“The fact that intergovernmental discussions were requested at all is an embarrassment, and should be taken seriously as something that will inevitably impact bilateral trade negotiations,” he added.

By Park Tae-woo, staff reporter

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