ARE South Korean industries about to face more disruptions at work sites this year? The inauguration of a tough- talking leader as head of one of the country’s largest trade union umbrella groups on Feb 1 certainly suggests this could be the case.

Elected president of the traditionally moderate Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), Mr Lee Yong Deuk has repeatedly vowed to battle both the government and corporate employers to change what he sees as the anti-labour legislation that became law last year.
Although widely acknowledged as having well-developed infrastructure and a well-educated workforce, South Korea has long had a bad reputation for belligerent labour activity. Trade unions have also taken on the role of spoiler when foreign companies have attempted to buy local corporations. Until now, however, much of the nation’s trade union militancy has been associated with the FKTU’s rival, the radical Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU).
During the 2007 presidential election, the FKTU forged an informal alliance with the then main opposition Grand National Party (GNP). Subsequently, when GNP candidate Lee Myung Bak won the presidency, the union adopted a moderate stance towards the government. This development, together with the increasing realisation among trade union leaders that cooperation rather than confrontation with employers was necessary in view of the uncertain global outlook, helped produce a period of relative calm in South Korea’s industrial relations.
Reflecting the general mood of cooperation, the nation’s automobile industry escaped major strike action for the first time in decades last year when trade union leaders accepted deals offered by manufacturers such as Hyundai, Daewoo and Kia Motors.
Not long after, however, relations between the FKTU and the conservative GNP government began to sour as the authorities set about curbing the power of the unions. Legislation aimed at giving companies more flexibility in hiring practices and new rules allowing for the presence of multiple unions in the workplace angered FKTU leaders, who believed their concerns had not been sufficiently addressed.
Another law about to come into effect requires employers to reduce the number of workers receiving a salary while involved in full-time union work. Critics argue that this practice allowed unions to grow unnaturally large and become a burden on employers.
When angry FKTU leaders demanded the resignation of Labour Minister Yim Tae Hee, President Lee responded by naming the minister chief of the presidential staff, a position that underlined the extent to which Mr Yim’s views were in accordance with his own.
Since then, the new FKTU president has ratcheted up the rhetoric. Mr Lee Yong Deuk declared: “If the previous leadership poured cold water (on labour struggles) on the site, I’ll pour petrol (on them).” He has also been quoted as saying that, having been sent to prison twice in the past, he would not mind going there a third time. There has also been talk of closer cooperation with the militant KCTU.
Mr Lee Yong Deuk’s swing towards belligerency rests partly on the fear that the new laws will make it difficult for unions affiliated with the FKTU to keep their membership intact. Already, unions disaffected with the FKTU have been moving to establish their own umbrella group. In March last year, four public service unions representing a quarter of the FKTU’s membership withdrew. The KCTU has been facing similar problems after complaints by affiliated unions that the radical umbrella organisation had forced them to implement unnecessary strikes.
To what extent Mr Lee Yong Deuk will follow up on his rhetoric remains to be seen. His previous term (2004 to 2008) as FKTU president also began with speculation of a merger with the KCTU. But the talk came to nought, and the FKTU did not depart very much from its comparatively moderate approach to industrial relations. In fact, it was under his leadership that the alliance with the GNP was originally forged.
Since the FKTU does not have a tradition of militancy, few of its more established leaders are likely to want to join the radical KCTU in an all-out battle with the government. And even if they did, would South Korean workers follow?
FKTU affiliates may have voted for Mr Lee Yong Deuk out of anger at recent changes in the employment law. But unions associated with both umbrella groups have also concluded agreements with employers in recent months that suggest workers have no stomach for further industrial disputes, particularly if they have the potential to get the companies they work for into serious financial trouble.
Mr Lee Yong Deuk’s rhetoric could turn out to be little more than hot air.