South Korea’s Conservative Government Is Cracking Down on the Country’s Militant Labor Unions
Last week, South Korea’s intelligence agency raided the country’s largest group of independent unions. It’s a blatant attack on workers’ rights that has raised fears the conservative government is resurrecting dictatorship-era methods of bludgeoning labor.
President Yoon Suk-yeol walks with his aides in Seoul, South Korea. (Chris Jung / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
South Korea’s intelligence agency raided the offices of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the country’s largest organization of independent unions, and an affiliate on January 18.
The high-profile raid, over alleged ties between four former and current union officers and North Korean agents, has raised fears that the conservative government is reverting to dictatorship-era methods of attacking labor by conflating organizing with threats to national security.
The moves come at the same time as the conservative government, led by president Yoon Suk-yeol, seeks to lift restrictions on long working hours and reduce pension payouts while increasing worker contributions. Yoon was elected last March on an openly anti-labor platform.
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