[PEN-L:9380] Korean Unions May Launch Labor Party (fwd)

[D Shniad <shniad@xxxxxx>]

> Date:         Sun, 6 Apr 1997 20:44:45 -0700
> Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy <LABOR-L@xxxxxxxx>
> From: "Institute for Global Communications (by way of clowe@xxxxxxx
>               Chris Lowe)" <labornews@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject:      Korean Unions May Launch Labor Party
> Comments: To: labr.party@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> To: LABOR-L@xxxxxxxx
>
> From: Institute for Global Communications <labornews@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Korean Unions May Launch Labor Party
>
>
> Korean Herald
>  03-31-97 : Labor Groups Likely to Form Political Force
> >
> >      By Choe Seung-chul Staff reporter
> >
> >      What critics call old-fashioned Korean politics is likely to
> >      undergo a major change later this year in the wake of the change
> >      to the labor laws. Labor groups are expected to form their own
> >      political force in the near future as new labor laws, passed by
> >      the National Assembly early this month, allow workers to become
> >      involved in politics. The militant Korean Confederation of Trade
> >      Unions (KCTU), the nation's second largest umbrella union, is
> >      seeking to play a role in December's presidential poll.
> >
> >      In a conference of representatives from member unions Thursday,
> >      the KCTU decided to actively participate in the coming
> >      presidential election either by fielding its own candidate or by
> >      forming an alliance with opposition parties. In the meeting, KCTU
> >      leaders also agreed to launch an ad hoc panel, which they said
> >      will be composed of more than a thousand union leaders, during
> >      the first half of this year to carry out joint activities with
> >      dissident and civic groups.
> >
> >      After this, around September at the earliest, they plan to stage
> >      a full-fledged election campaign backing an independent pro-labor
> >      candidate who they believe would work in the interest of workers,
> >      KCTU officials said. They also plan campaigns against those who
> >      voted for the old labor bills passed through the Assembly in a
> >      secret predawn parliamentary session last December with only
> >      ruling party members present.
> >
> >      The labor group, which remained outlawed until it acquired legal
> >      status via the new labor legislation, spearheaded a month-long
> >      protest strike against the old labor laws. An official said that
> >      the organization will ``seek to form a joint front with dissident
> >      and opposition groups against the ruling party or launch an
> >      intermediate political group before the December vote.''
> >
> >      The KCTU also plans to stage a full-scale election campaign
> >      against the established political parties right after its member
> >      unions approve the plan in a vote slated for August. ``We will
> >      actively play a role in the upcoming presidential election as
> >      it's about time we pursued the interests of workers and citizens
> >      and reinforce our strength on our own,'' an official said. The
> >      ultimate goal of the organization goes beyond the December poll,
> >      says Chang Yong-hwa, another official.
> >
> >      ``Our objective is to launch a reformative party in which workers
> >      would have the initiative as stipulated in the KCTU's platform,
> >      and secure a negotiating group in the National Assembly in the
> >      year 2000,'' he said. Chang said his group has had a political
> >      committee in operation since the inauguration of the KCTU in late
> >      1995 and the panel has studied ways of building a party of their
> >      own.
> >
> >      The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) which claims the
> >      largest membership doesn't seem to be interested in forming a
> >      political party. Federation officials said they, instead, focus
> >      their efforts on backing a candidate who they believe would work
> >      for union interests. As soon as they agree on whom they support,
> >      they will begin campaigns, they said.
> >
> >      Established politicians seem to accept the possible inauguration
> >      of a pro-labor party as ``inevitable'' but feel
> >      ``uncomfortable.'' ``The advent of a labor-backed political force
> >      is expected to greatly affect boss-dominated and
> >      regionalism-based Korean politics,'' said Rep. Chun Jung-bae, a
> >      lawyer-turned legislator of the opposition National Congress for
> >      New Politics.
> >
> >      But he said that many politicians will feel uneasy about the new
> >      political force, which is likely to challenge their old-fashioned
> >      political practices. Chun, however, predicted that labor groups
> >      are likely to fail if they seriously aim to win the December vote
> >      by fielding an independent candidate. Chances of victory look
> >      very slim, he said. Han Sang-jin, a sociology professor at Seoul
> >      National University, agreed with him.
> >
> >      ``With their reformist features, their potential is enormous as
> >      they would be able to successfully set themselves apart from
> >      existing parties,'' Han said. By competing the established
> >      political parties in an election, they may contribute to
> >      modernizing old-fashioned politics, he said.
> >
> >      ``But they should be able to come up with various programs that
> >      could attract the lower classes estranged by the established
> >      political parties and create improved political competition,''
> >      Han said, adding that any hasty move by workers to launch a
> >      political party without extensive studies would only lead to an
> >      early collapse.
>