Trade unions in South Korea

Last updated
Trade unions in South Korea
National organization(s) KCTU, FKTU
Global Rights Index
5 No guarantee of rights
International Labour Organization
South Korea is a member of the ILO
Convention ratification
Freedom of Association 20 April 2021
Right to Organise 20 April 2021

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on December 30, 2021, that as of 2020, 14.2% of workers were in trade unions in South Korea, a 1.7% increase from 12.5% in 2019. Korea's unionization rate peaked in 1989 at 19.8% and fell to 10% 2004. [1]

There are two national trade union centres in South Korea: the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). In 2007, the FKTU had 1,153,863 members (41.1% of trade unionists in Korea), the KCTU had 1,134,056 members (40.4%), and 516,714 workers were members of independent trade unions affiliated to neither national centre. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 FKTU becomes S. Korea's biggest umbrella union in 2020: gov't yonhap news, December 30, 2021.