The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) initiated discussions on returning to social dialogue with the government and employers for the first time in 27 years, but failed to reach a conclusion due to insufficient delegate attendance.
On October 7, the KCTU held its 85th extraordinary delegate conference at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, to discuss the 'Promotion of Social Dialogue.' Earlier, during its 9th regular central executive committee meeting in July, the KCTU set three main principles for pursuing new social dialogue: changing the decision-making structure of the Economic, Social and Labor Council to a consensus-based model, ensuring participation from sectoral organizations, and amending the council's regulations.
Delegates engaged in a debate for about three hours but did not proceed to a vote. Of the 1,766 registered delegates, 1,061 were present at the start of the conference, but the number dwindled to 790 just before the vote due to absences during the discussion. This fell short of the majority required for a decision, which is 884 delegates.
KCTU Chairman Yang Kyung-soo spoke to reporters after the conference, stating, "While the conference was conducted calmly, I believe the departing delegates expressed their positions by leaving. On the other hand, many delegates remained until the end, indicating their support for the need to promote social dialogue."
Regarding the failure to vote, he commented, "In my opinion, if the discussion had proceeded normally, the likelihood of approval would have been high, so I suspect that those opposed chose to leave. I believe it would have been better to reach a conclusion on this issue, and I am very disappointed and regretful that we could not do so."
He also hinted at the possibility of holding an additional delegate conference. According to KCTU regulations, an online extraordinary delegate conference can be convened with a seven-day notice. The KCTU previously held an online delegate conference in 2020 regarding a one-point labor-management agreement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yang explained, "An online delegate conference has the same procedural requirements as an extraordinary delegate conference, so it is not difficult to arrange. There have been instances where decisions were made online regarding leadership issues, so I believe it is feasible."
However, the timing of the next leadership election poses a variable, as candidate registration for the KCTU's next chairman election closes on October 24. Yang noted that a decision on whether to hold an online delegate conference should be made before the election begins.
The KCTU has not returned to an official social dialogue forum since withdrawing from the predecessor of the Economic, Social and Labor Council in February 1999.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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