Yoon vows to eradicate illegal practices in construction sector

Feb 22, 2023, 09:11 am

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President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at a Cabinet meeting held at the presidential office in Seoul on February 21, 2023./ Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporters Cho Sung-joon & Kim Na-ri

President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered strong measures against illegal activities of labor unions at construction sites, reiterating his will to push for labor reforms. The government plans to take measures to eradicate illegal activities, such as launching a joint investigation team between the prosecution and police, until the rule of law is set right at construction sites.

“I will make sure to root out extortion and violent actions at construction sites within my term,” Yoon said while receiving a briefing on violence at construction sites from Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, Land Minister Won Hee-ryong, National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun and Vice Labor Minister Kwon Gi-seob immediately after a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. The president ordered the prosecution, police, land and labor ministries to work together to strongly crack down on organized illegal acts such as violence at construction sites, according to his senior press secretary Kim Eun-hye in a written statement.

“The crackdown should not end temporarily,” Yoon said. “Until the construction violence is completely eradicated, we will strictly crack down on them and establish the rule of law at the construction site.”

Eradicating illegal practices at construction sites has been a key task of labor reform, one of the Yoon administration’s top three areas of reform along with education and pensions. Since last year, the government has run a designated team under the land ministry to respond to violence at construction sites while the police have operated a 200-day special crackdown period. On top of that, related ministries gave a briefing on a joint comprehensive plan to bring about more fundamental changes at the construction site.

“If we leave such violence and illegalities ignored, we cannot say that we are living in a proper country,” Yoon said. “We must carry out a special inspection and crackdown on illegal activities and take stern action in accordance with the law when illegal activities are found.”

“Militant labor unions with vested rights continue to openly engage in unlawful acts, such as demands for money and valuables, coercion to hire certain people, and the interruption of building work,” he said. “As a result, workers are losing their jobs and construction is being poorly done. The damage is being passed on to the people, with delays in the opening of new elementary schools and move-ins to new apartments,” he said.

The president also reiterated his principle that labor reform starts with enhancing the transparency of unions’ financial structures. “During the past five years, labor unions have benefited from more than 150 billion won (US$115.75 million) in government subsidies funded by taxpayers, but now they are refusing to submit their accounting books,” Yoon said. “The public will not accept providing continuous financial support to labor groups that refuse to maintain financial transparency,” he said.

“If labor union’s accounting transparency is not supported and corrupt, the corporate ecosystem will be distorted. So we need to thoroughly identify the source and use,” he said.

“The most important thing to do this year is to establish the fundamental order of the Constitution,” Yoon said. “Only when the union is normalized, the value of the company can rise, the capital market develops, and numerous jobs can be created,” he said.

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