(Bloomberg) -- Unions representing workers at some of South Korea’s largest companies have threatened to strike as they push for President Yoon Suk Yeol to resign after he narrowly avoided impeachment over the weekend.
Unionized workers at auto factories, train operators, public schools and hospitals threatened to strike if Yoon doesn’t step down. The Korean Confederation of Trade Union, the country’s largest umbrella union, asked its 1.2 million members to strike for “an indefinite period” to pressure Yoon to resign. The group plans to hold a candlelight vigil everyday in front of parliament.
Korean unions are seeking to leverage the political turmoil after Yoon briefly imposed martial law last week, before it was overturned by parliament. He survived an impeachment vote Saturday but is facing intense pressure to step down.
Unions have been more active during Yoon’s administration, after he made labor reforms a priority since taking office in May 2022, even as workers struggled to cope with high inflation and slow growth.
The Korean Metal Workers’ Union, which covers workers at Hyundai Motor Co.’s factory in Ulsan and staff at steelmaker Posco Holdings Inc. and shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., plan to strike from Wednesday. Workers at public trains and subways, who have been striking since before Yoon’s declaration of martial law, said they will “fight until the end” to see his resignation. Temporary workers at public schools and medical services have also threated to join the action.
Truck drivers, who staged a strike that paralyzed local supply chains in 2022, plan to hold a rally for a better wage plan, though won’t strike for now, a spokesman said. The unions of Samsung Electronics Co. and other tech companies including Kakao Corp. and Naver Corp. have no plan to strike at the moment though may discuss it soon, their spokesmen said.
“This time is a great opportunity for unions,” said Park Sung Bok, a researcher at Pi-Touch Institute, a Seoul-based labor research organization. “Without striking, just threatening to do so can raise higher voices than before, especially if this political turmoil continues for a longer period. They could probably demand wage increases more than the previous years.”
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