(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on May 8)

Above the law

Labor unions are unwarrantedly strong in Korea. But few would have known that
unionized workers on the payrolls of government-invested corporations or
government-financed public agencies are as powerful as they are. Some of the
unions are placed above the law.

A case in point is the Korea Gas Corp. union. The labor contract bans management
from seeking civil and criminal remedies from union leaders suspected of
launching illegal protests and causing property damage. Another case involves the
Korea Airports Corp. union, which is authorized to refer a non-union worker
accused of having "damaged the status of the union" to the disciplinary committee
for action against him.
Another problem is that public corporations and agencies have bloated payrolls -
a result of incessant concessions to unions. The average annual pay at 297 of
them was at 55 million won ($43,000) last year. It was 80 million won or more at
14. Not to be outdone is the CEO pay. CEO compensation amounting to 500 million
won or more was not unusual. The pay for some CEOs was nearing 800 million won.
These and other wayward practices of public-sector unions have been drawn to the
public's attention since the administration recently posted their labor contracts
on one of its websites. The postings have confirmed yet again that jobs with
public corporations and agencies are "God-given" ones.
Many of those contracts, however, are an obstacle to badly needed corporate
restructuring. At Korea Airports Corp. and two other corporations, management is
required to obtain consent from labor when it comes to mergers, splits, spin-offs
and reorganization.
The government will have to rein in the unruly unions if it is to proceed with
its plan for public-sector restructuring. At the same time, it will have to
shoulder its fair share of responsibility, given that government-appointed
managers have helped make the mess.
(END)