Gov’t to pilot union accounting disclosure system at public institutions

Gov’t to pilot union accounting disclosure system at public institutions. [Source : Gettyimagesbank]

The new labor union accounting disclosure system introduced by the Yoon Suk-yeol government to enhance transparency is expected to be applied first to public institutions before private peers, according to a top official at the president’s office.

“We are building an electronic disclosure system like the financial watchdog agency’s DART for unions, but it cannot be mandated on private companies due to lack of legal basis,” the official told Maeil Business Newspaper on Thursday. “The government is first considering using this system when evaluating public institutions.”

The disclosure system for union accounting is scheduled for completion around July or August.

During a meeting of senior presidential secretaries last month, President Yoon mentioned DART and emphasized that unions should disclose their accounting information just as companies disclose their financial status transparently.

In response, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced in a policy briefing session that it is aiming to establish a union accounting disclosure system by the third quarter.

If the government evaluates public institutions on whether to introduce a union accounting disclosure system, this will impose considerable pressure on unionists at public institutions because evaluation scores have a great influence on calculating performance pay for public institution employees.

Focus is on Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL), which is classified as a public institution. KORAIL’s potential acceptance for the system is highly likely to affect branch labor unions of KORAIL Networks and other union units in the public transportation union under the umbrella of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.

The government aims to take steps to secure transparency in labor accounting by revising rules related to the Labor Union Act. The revision stipulates that accountants within the union should be excluded from audit activities and union auditors must hold legal qualifications.