The Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) chapter of the Supra-Corporate Labor Union decided to enter post-mediation procedures after a meeting with Kim Do-hyung, head of the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Office, on Wednesday. As a result, labor and management will sit at the negotiating table once again ahead of the general strike scheduled for the 21st of this month. Since this Samsung Electronics dispute has become a society-wide problem, fueling internal union-versus-union conflict, it is time for all parties, including labor and management, to join forces to resolve the issue. Yet at this critical juncture, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), which have long represented Korea's labor community, have maintained a hard-to-understand silence, drawing criticism for being irresponsible.
The two umbrella unions, which together represent 2.3 million members, have typically been the first to raise their voices on labor issues. They have actively intervened not only in corporate restructuring and non-regular worker issues but also in minor disputes at individual workplaces. Yet their attitude toward the Samsung Electronics union situation amounts to watching a fire from across the river. While the president, shareholders, and civic groups all express concern over the ripple effects of the union's excessive bonus demands, the two umbrella unions have not offered a single word of their position, citing the fact that the union is not one of their affiliates.
A bystander's attitude toward a critical issue that will shape the direction of labor-management and union-union relations is unbecoming of organizations that claim to represent the labor community. No wonder critics call it a cowardly stance—stepping forward on issues favorable to them while retreating on thorny ones. The two umbrella unions' continued silence may reflect an "organizational logic" aimed at drawing the Samsung Electronics union into their own spheres of influence in the future, but it will not win the public's support.
The two umbrella unions must bear in mind that further silence amounts to denying their own claim to represent the labor community. Above all, they must squarely face the fact that the situation is growing increasingly complex, escalating into a union-versus-union conflict within Samsung Electronics between the Supra-Corporate Labor Union and the second and third unions (the National Samsung Electronics Union and the Donghaeng Union). They must also not overlook that the Samsung Electronics union's demand for "45 trillion won in bonuses" has triggered questions about the fair distribution of corporate profits and the maintenance of industrial competitiveness. The two umbrella unions must now break free from "selective justice." They should abandon the double standard of shouting for social justice when management's responsibility is highlighted while turning a blind eye to unreasonable union demands. Only by showing themselves to be responsible economic actors who consider the resolution of labor market polarization, intergenerational fairness, and industrial competitiveness together can they earn the public's sympathy.
