Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon's remarks suggesting that the Cargo Truckers' Solidarity Union is effectively a labor union have raised the possibility of a shift in the ministry's existing position on the group's legal status. The ministry has not recognized the union's legal status, citing the absence of a separate union registration certificate, but the minister's differing view has drawn attention to whether the official stance will change.
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor and labor circles on Thursday, Kim referred to the Cargo Truckers' Solidarity Union as engaged in a "union struggle" during his visit to the site on the day a member of the group died. Responding to an inquiry from The Seoul Economic Daily, he said, "It is a labor union's struggle. We will work to bring labor and management to the table." Observers noted that it is unusual for a sitting labor minister to visit a Cargo Truckers' Solidarity Union rally site and deliver such a message.
Notably, just two days earlier on the 20th, the ministry released materials on the union's bargaining demands that could effectively be interpreted as stating that the Cargo Truckers' Solidarity Union is not a labor union. At the time, the ministry explained that the union's bargaining demand was difficult to regard as a bargaining procedure under the revised Trade Union Act. In doing so, it used expressions likening members of the Cargo Truckers' Solidarity Union to small business owners or individual entrepreneurs, drawing backlash from labor circles. As a result, a gap has emerged between the minister's remarks and the ministry's explanation.
Labor circles interpret Kim as having a relatively good understanding of the nature of the Cargo Truckers' Solidarity Union and the issues at stake. Kim's background in the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions is cited as the basis for this interpretation. "Minister Kim has been active since the early days when the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union and the Cargo Truckers' Solidarity Union were being formed," a union official said. "He is someone who understands the cargo union's issues well." The view is that he understands the labor sector's position that cargo drivers, while being individual business operators, can also qualify as workers under the Trade Union Act as workers in special forms of employment.
However, the legal status of the Cargo Truckers' Solidarity Union will not be resolved immediately. Many interpret that a separate registration filing is required for the ministry to recognize the union as a labor union. If a filing is made, the ministry can accept it and issue a certificate, incorporating the group into the official system. However, the Cargo Truckers' Solidarity Union maintains that a separate filing is not particularly necessary, as it is already an affiliate organization of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union, which holds a registration certificate. Critics also point out that the Cargo Truckers' Solidarity Union has little incentive to pursue a separate union registration, given that it has continued to achieve substantive bargaining outcomes without official government recognition.
In practice, the Cargo Truckers' Solidarity Union began negotiations on Thursday by holding a first meeting and working-level talks with BGF Logis, the logistics subsidiary of BGF Retail, which operates the convenience store chain CU. "Opening the channels of dialogue for a swift and peaceful resolution of this matter is significant, and we hope this will lead to a prompt and reasonable agreement," a BGF official said. "BGF Retail will also actively support BGF Logis in faithfully implementing the outcomes of future talks, and at present, we will do our utmost to normalize logistics in order to minimize damage to our franchise stores."
The Ministry of Employment and Labor said it will review the case in accordance with procedures if the Cargo Truckers' Solidarity Union files for union registration. "The intent was not to say that the Cargo Truckers' Solidarity Union is not a labor union under the Trade Union Act," a ministry official said. "It meant that the union's bargaining demand at the time was difficult to regard as a bargaining procedure under the revised Trade Union Act."
