Yoon vows to reform labor market

Dec 16, 2022, 09:30 am

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President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at a meeting to check the progress of his key policy tasks at Yeongbingwan, a reception hall at Cheong Wa Dae, on Dec. 15, 2022./ Source: Joint Press Corps

AsiaToday reporter Lee Wook-jae

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Thursday that if labor issues turn into a political matter, it would ruin the economy and politics, at a meeting with the public.

His remarks indicate that labor, management and political forces must work together to overcome the economic crisis. Regarding the tree major reforms, involving labor, pension and education, he said, “Reforms are not popular, but we have to pursue them and must not avoid them.”

To the question of a public panel asking about the real estate issue, the president answered, “If heavy tax is imposed on multiple home owners, the so-called ‘tax transfer’ will eventually occur to small tenants.” To the public panels who were concerned about the increase in insurance premiums due to health insurance reform, Yoon said, “You don’t need to worry too much. We will make the insurance system just again.”

President Yoon presided over the first meeting to check the progress of his key policy at Yeongbingwan, a reception hall at Cheong Wa Dae, and presented a blueprint for the government after receiving questions from the public panels. Initially, the meeting was scheduled to be held in the form of business reports by ministers, but in accordance with the president’s will to directly reflect the voices of the public in implementing state affairs, it was held in the presence of 100 public panels. The meeting, originally scheduled for 100 minutes, went on for about 2 hours and 30 minutes.

At the meeting, which kicked off with the introduction of achievements in state affairs by Prime Minister Han Duk-soo, Yoon directly took notes on the questions of the public panels and gave answers. Ministers who attended the meeting also elaborated on Yoon’s explanation and addressed the public’s questions.

Regarding the labor crisis triggered by the cargo union’s refusal to transport, Yoon said, “Fairness and treatment in line with human dignity for workers are very important, and a culture to accept a system in which workers receive fair compensation for work should be established.”

“Our labor law system is based on the legislation of the factory era in the 1960s and 1970s,” he said. “Without a change in the labor market, we would lose in the competition and slip to a third- or fourth-tier country in the global market.”

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