Labor Issues

South Korea maintains and enforces high-level labor standards and protections as recognized by the international community.

• In 2007, the OECD Employment and Labor Affairs Committee (ELSAC) officially declared an end to its monitoring of Korea's labor laws and labor relations, meaning the international community recognizes Korea's high-level labor standards and appropriate labor law regimes.
• Korean workers enjoy a high level of protection against dismissals. The OECD Synthetic Indicator on Employment Protection for Korea in 2008 was 2.13, only slightly below the OECD average of 2.23. The U.S. indicator is 0.85, significantly lower.
• Korea has ratified four of the eight core ILO conventions while the U.S. has ratified two.
  • Korea ratified the Conventions on Equal Remuneration; Discrimination; Minimum Age; and Worst Forms of Child Labor.
  • The U.S. ratified the Conventions on Abolition of Forced Labor; and Worst Forms of Child Labor.

• Labor unions in South Korea are powerful organizations that, like American unions, work towards better pay and benefits, improving conditions and ensuring both fair and safe working environments. Korean workers are free to form and join labor unions and choose on their own whether to take action.
• The Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act specifically permits workers to take time off from work to engage in union activities in a manner fully consistent with ILO recommendations (Recommendation Concerning Protection and Facilities to be Afforded to Workers' Representatives in the Undertaking). The language involved is almost identical to that in Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act.

The Korea trade agreement includes the strongest labor rights protections ever negotiated by the United States.

• The KORUS FTA fully incorporates the terms of the bipartisan Congressional agreement on U.S. trade policy reached in May 2007.
• Unlike previous FTAs the U.S. has approved, the Korea trade agreement ensures that the Korean government will be held to the same level of accountability for meeting labor commitments as it is for meeting its other commitments in the agreement, like reducing tariffs and opening financial and service markets.
• The FTA allows any interested party (including U.S. unions) to file a complaint with the Department of Labor if a labor rights standard is violated.
• The labor provisions of the KORUS FTA include obligations to respect core International Labor Organization standards and rights as stated in the ILO Declaration of 1998; to not weaken the laws that reflect those rights; and to effectively enforce domestic labor laws.

The Korea trade agreement includes the strongest labor rights protections ever negotiated by the United States.

• KORUS FTA only refers to the ILO "Declaration," not the "Conventions."
  REALITY: Neither country has ratified all eight core ILO Conventions. Korea has ratified four while the U.S. has ratified only two. Article 19.6 establishes a Labor Cooperation Mechanism to further advance common commitments regarding labor matters.
• KORUS FTA limits labor complaints to cases where a connection to trade or investment can be established.
  REALITY: This limitation is designed to protect the U.S. and avoid opening the entire U.S. labor code to challenges by trading partners (CRS Report, December 2007).