The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions decides whether to return to social dialogue at the delegates’ convention on the 7th.

We are considering all possibilities, including a name change.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions decides whether to return to social dialogue at the delegates’ convention on the 7th.

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Hyewon Han = Kim Ji-hyeong, chairman of the Economic, Social and Labor Committee, said on the 6th, "We are fully prepared to begin close consultations with entities representing labor, management and government at any time regarding the improvement of the social dialogue operation method of the Economic, Social and Labor Committee."

Chairman Kim answered questions from reporters asking for his opinion on the possibility of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) returning to social dialogue at the 'Special Committee on Demographic Change and Job Openings' briefing held at the Economic and Labor Committee in Jongno-gu, Seoul on this day.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions has not returned to social dialogue with the Labor-Management Committee after withdrawing from the Tripartite-Management-Government Committee, the predecessor of the Labor-Management Committee, in February 1999. As only the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (Federation of Korean Trade Unions) participates as a labor representative in the Economic and Labor Committee, the limitation of being 'half-hearted' has been repeatedly pointed out.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions plans to hold a delegates' meeting on the 7th to decide whether to return to social dialogue after 27 years. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions has presented three conditions to the government as conditions for participation in social dialogue: ▲ operating a consensus system ▲ guaranteeing industry-level participation ▲ changing the name of the Economic and Labor Committee.

Chairman Kim mentioned the delegates' conference in the briefing and emphasized, "It cannot be denied that there are many difficult problems that need to be resolved through dialogue. There is a social request for the labor community to participate in social dialogue as a whole and play a role in resolving such problems, and I expect that there will be a wise judgment to respond to such requests."

He explained, “In addition to the three suggestions proposed by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, there are improvements to the management method of the Labor, Employment and Labor Committee that have been reviewed by academia, practitioners, and even within the Labor, Employment and Labor Committee,” and added, “We will listen to the opinions of participants in labor, management and government and discuss them in a way that respects them as much as possible.”

Chairman Kim, however, said, "We are considering everything, including changing the name of the committee," but added, "The introduction of a consensus system, participation in industrial unions, and name changes are all issues that need to be fixed through legislation."

He said, "Although the history of social dialogue between labor, management, and government has lasted for nearly 30 years, it is true that it has experienced various limitations."

When Chairman Kim took office last year, he proposed 'Social Dialogue 2.0' in which the people participate based on deliberation and listening. The purpose is to pursue coexistence between labor and management, discover agendas that resonate with the public through public discussion, and establish a multi-layered dialogue system linking regions and industries.

At the briefing on this day, the Economic and Social Affairs Committee introduced the six key tasks selected by the 'Special Committee on Demographic Change and Public Debate on Jobs' through deliberative discussions with the general public since last July.

Chairman Kim said, "If you look at the selected tasks, you can see that citizens clearly recognize that the problem of employment due to changes in demographic structure is not a problem that can be solved only with piecemeal systems such as simple retirement age or the number of young people hired."

He emphasized, “Job issues are closely interconnected with intergenerational relationships, organizational culture, jobs and compensation, education and training, child care and care, and local job issues,” and added, “It is necessary to redesign the job ecosystem itself to suit changes in demographic structure.”