Korea’s major labor group presses on with two-week general strike

The KCTU holds a press conference in front of the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul on July 3. Yang Kyung-soo, chairman of the KCTU, is at the center in this photo. [Photo by Yonhap]

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a major labor group in South Korea, has begun a two-week general strike as announced earlier at a time when the economy finally gained momentum last month after recording a trade surplus for the first time in 16 months.

The trade union has launched a de facto political strike, calling for the removal of President Yoon Suk Yeol from office and an end to the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The KCTU on Monday held a press conference in front of the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, to announce the start of the general strike. “The killer question on the college entrance exam is not the problem, but the Yoon Suk Yeol regime is a killer regime that sends people to death,” said Yang Kyung-soo, chairman of the KCTU.

The union has been leading the summer strike every year, but this year it brought political issues to the forefront, sparking controversy over an illegal strike. This is the second time it has officially called for the government to step down, the first being during the Park Geun-hye administration.

“The trade balance turned positive in June for the first time in 16 months, but people and businesses are suffering from high interest rates and inflation,” Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang said in a meeting with officials from six economic organizations. “Labor-management cooperation is the most urgent and important foundation for our economy, especially in key industries such as automobiles and shipbuilding, which will drive a rebound in exports in the second half of the year.”