hankyoreh

head of the Korean Democracy Government Employees’ Union (KDGEU).

Members of three government employees’ unions, the Korean Government Employees’ Union (KGEU), the Korean Democracy Government Employees’ Union (KDGEU) and the Court Government Employees’ Union (CGEU) voted on Sept. 22 to both merge into one union and join the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions (KTCU). The additional membership now means that the KCTU is the largest umbrella union in South Korea. Since the unions’ vote, the anti-labor Lee Government, in coordination with the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, is seeking disciplinary action against employees who took part in the vote. Chung Hyeon-jae, head of the Korean Democracy Government Employees’ Union (KDGEU), granted the Hankyoreh an interview on Sept. 25.

Hankyoreh: How do you explain the union’s decision to join the KCTU?

Chung: “The decision to join the Korea Confederation of Trade Union (KCTU) was a natural response made in order to counter the Lee Myung-bak administration’s anti-common people policies.”

“Our decision to join KCTU is a legal one. Also, we had decided that we could not join the Federation of Korea Trade Union (FKTU) because it has been cooperating with the Grand National Party since the inauguration of the Lee administration.”

The FKTU is another umbrella union in South Korea that leans more towards conservative and moderate policies regarding labor affairs.

“Of course, the current law governing government employees bans their participation in politics, however, we do not think that joining KCTU violates the law. Although the KCTU has a mission to ‘increase the political power of labor,’ the political power being referred to does not directly entail labor’s participation in current political affairs, in either nominating political figures or running members in the national election.”

Chung also said, “We will maintain neutrality as we engage in our work, however, the government should also guarantee our political freedom.”

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