Making It Easier for Business to Shed Their Employees

During a televised conference on the Korea Broadcasting System on Saturday night, President-elect Roh Moo-hyun once again said that he would make business layoffs easier, after he hinted at this idea at a social gathering held on Friday at the request of the American Chamber of Commerce and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea.

At the gathering, the President-elect said, "With the exception of a few conglomerates, corporate layoffs are generally easy in Korea. However, change in the system should be made to make layoffs’ impact lighter by making it easier to get a job or transfer to another job."

When layoffs become easier, business will employ more full-time workers than part-time workers, the President-elect commented on the issue in detail during the televised panel interview.

His comment was interpreted as being intended to point out the current situation in which some conglomerates cannot fire employees even in a legal way, faced with opposition from powerful trade unions, though the existing Labor Standard Act has a clause prescribing layoffs.

Also, his comment means that because employers are reluctant to employ regular workers due to some difficulties in firing them, companies should be allowed to more easily fire their workers even in order to solve the issue of part-time workers.

In the case of some conglomerates, according to a clause attached to Labor Standard Act’s layoff, they should get prior approval from its trade union when they fire their workers. Even disciplinary dismissal is not easy because they should set up a disciplinary committee comprised of management and labor of the same number. In addition, labor unions go on strike whenever their demands are not met.

For this layoff issue, the Ministry of Labor believes that the ban on layoffs without a proper reason should be maintained in order to protect workers’ minimum rights and interests. It sees that because the clause on measures prior to layoffs was taken by accepting judicial precedents in a 1998 revision, revision of law is not necessary in the process of delivering on Mr. Roh’s words.

But the ministry has a position that if trade unions go on a strike against legitimate layoffs, it will respond with harsh punishments. In addition, the Labor Relations Commission’s standard for decision on unfair firing will be fine-tuned to prevent it from favoring workers.

Meanwhile the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), whose major members are conglomerate labor unions, is paying much attention to this issue. An official with the KCTU said, "Mr. Roh’s intention is not clear yet. But if his promise is delivered on, head-on clash is unavoidable."

Jin Lee leej@donga.com