Yoon warns of strong measures against labor unions refusing to submit account books

Feb 21, 2023, 08:29 am

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President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at an emergency economic meeting held at the presidential office in Seoul, on Feb. 15, 2023./ Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporter Kim Na-ri

President Yoon Suk-yeol has taken tough measures against labor unions that refuse to disclose their account books.

The government plans to take firm measures against labor unions that refuse to submit their account books, such as suspending and retrieving government subsidies, in order to enhance labor unions’ accounting transparency. President Yoon, who has stressed that ‘transparency in labor union accounting is the starting point for labor union reform’, is believed to have expressed his willingness to strictly respond to unions that commit illegal activities with a zero tolerance approach.

Yoon’s warning came during a weekly meeting with Prime Minister Han Duk-soo on Monday. “There is no choice but to take firm action against behavior that uses hundreds of billions of won from taxpayers’ precious money in government subsidies, but denies the rule of law and refuses to disclose the details of their use,” Yoon said.

In this regard, Labor Minister Lee Jeong-sik gave the president a comprehensive report on ways to increase labor unions’ accounting transparency. “Starting this year, the government will exclude labor groups that fail to meet their accounting obligations under the law from government subsidies and also conduct a detailed analysis of the subsidies dispensed so far with the option of confiscating them in the event irregularities are found,” Lee said during the briefing.

“We plan to strictly respond to 207 labor unions that have not submitted accounting books and preservation results,” the labor minister said. According to the presidential office, 120 out of 327 labor unions have submitted their accounting books and 207 have not submitted.

The government plans to announce measures to improve the overall law and system early next month, including guaranteeing union members’ right to read and expanding reasons for accounting audits in accordance with international standards.

President Yoon urged the labor ministry to consistently and strongly pursue measures without a hitch. “We cannot achieve fair labor market reform without securing accounting transparency of the labor unions,” Yoon said during the briefing. “There is no future for young Koreans without ending the harmful effects of strong labor unions,” he said.

The president also discussed the current status of regulatory innovation related to the use of data and emphasized the importance of regulatory innovation at the weekly meeting.

#Yoon Suk-yeol #labor union #accounting books #labor union reform