On this Workers’ Day, a country is agitated by the question of work and the rights surrounding it: South Korea. Since President Yoon Suk-yeol came to power, unions have faced strong repression as the government seeks to make labor laws more flexible. Before May 1st, a day that is not really a public holiday but which can be taken off work by decision of the employer, Koreans decided to demonstrate.
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With our correspondent in Seoul, Nicolas Rocca
On this spring afternoon, several hundred civil servants gathered in front of Seoul City Hall. Targets of online harassment, they are demanding better protection. But mobilizing troops to demonstrate has become complicated, according to Kim Dae-ryong of the Korean Civil Servants Union. “ In South Korea, workers have a bad image. White-collar workers are highly regarded, but blue-collar workers are not. This is why our civil servant union is trying to improve the rights and interests of workers “, he explains.
Last year, union membership fell for the first time in 13 years. This is explained by the hostile political climate, for Kim Dae-ryong: “ When the Democratic Party is in power, the unions are very respected, but here with Yoon Suk-yeolwe suffer from anti-worker policies, that’s why I came to demonstrate “.
Searches of premises, criminal prosecution of union representatives, order to return to work to break strikes… The president’s hard line in the face of social movements was sanctioned at the polls during the legislative elections of April 10. “ Now that the opposition has won and the conservatives are in the minority in the National Assembly, I expect people to be concerned about workers’ rights. And I hope the president realizes the times we live in », he adds. Yoon Suk-yeol wanted to make working hours more flexible to allow employees to work up to 69 hours a week. He had to back down in the face of popular discontent.