• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-28
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• 2018

This paper studies and evaluates the present situation of three decades of 'Minjoonojoundong' in Korea with a long-term perspectives. It had grown up during 1987 labour regime era and has declined abruptly since 1998. The backdrop of this decline was the transformation of labour regime from the 1987 regime to the dependent neoliberal one. The Korean labour movement did not respond to the changed structural conditions as it sustained its old strategies, militant unionism. Now the 'Minjoonojoundong' in Korea has met three difficult problems that are connected with each others. They are militant economism, political economism and formal industrial unionism. However the 'Candlelight Revolution' occurred in 2016 winter has opened a chance of regime change that could strengthen the 'Minjoonojoundong'. The revolution was primarily a political one. But it also created a dramatic situation change in labour politics. The candle-citizen demanded radical change of the polarized Korean society and overflown contingent workers. So it is a time of radical and overall innovation for the 'Minjoonojoundong' and KCTU. And they have to keep the long-term strategical vision of labour regime change.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.75-112
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• 2006

We found following evidences from our empirical analysis with the Workplace Panel Survey data of the Korea Labor Institute with reference to 'discord hypothesis' which insists that employee participatory high performance work practices would strengthen not only an enterprise focus in labor-management relations but also the enterprise unionism in the labor union system or collective bargaining structures, so they would probably come into conflict with the superenterprise-oriented industrial solidarity spirit in labor unionism. First, even though there are significant positive management performance effects of high performance work practices, especially in case of mining and manufacturing industries, the positive performance effects of employee participatory work practices such as job rotation ratio of workers and 6-sigma activities were much strengthened relatively in case of non-unionized establishments. Second, the superenterprise-oriented collective bargaining system is also found to give very strong and statistically significant negative performance effects to the introduction and implementation of work teams and performance-related payment systems such as profit sharing, group incentive pay system and so on. Although there are some careful reservations in interpreting the results of our analysis because of data insufficiency, they may have important implications that the industrial labor unionism or the superenterprise-oriented collective bargaining practices exercise the bargaining power to make individual firms be negative or feel it nearly impossible to introduce the employee participatory work practices which can be very favorable to improving those management performance.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.177-211
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• 2013

The Chinese dual structure of employment('Shuangguizhi') has been retained through the Economic Reforms, and has been supported and reproduced by the system of division between rural and urban household registration. In the 2000s, efforts of the government to abolish the division appeared to be effective with the introduction of the 'Labor Contract Act'. However, the eclecticism of the Act and the outbreak of the global financial crisis in 2008 gave new momentum to the revival of the Chinese dual structure of employment by increasing the scale of labor dispatching. Labor dispatching in China has become a regular form of employment rather than an exceptional one. Labor dispatching reveals its Chinese characteristics against the particular background formed during the periods of state-owned-enterprise restructuring around 2000. The combined effects of the 'Labor Contract Act' and the global financial crisis brought about the effect of increase rather than control of labor dispatching, and gave a signal to enterprises to use various forms of labor dispatching including 'reverse directional labor dispatching' to lessen burdens and costs caused by the Act and the crisis. As labor dispatching strengthens or displaces the existing dual structure of employment, social groups which need more social protection tend to be much more excluded from the protection of the government and the society.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.179-209
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• 2018

Three dacades of time have passed since the Korean labour movement experimented its political empowerment struggle. Generally it has failed for all some positive results. But unfortunately there were no critical and intellectual reflections regarding the failure within the labour movement. This study drew three conclusions. Firstly, the success or failure of political experiments was caused mainly by the labour regime changes of the Korean society. Secondly, the motive power was provided not by the progressive party, the Democratic Labour Party, but by the trade union movement and organization, the Minjoonochong. Lastly, the Candle-Light revolution in 2016 has produced some new conditions for the second stage of political empowerment praxis in Korean labour movement.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.1-28
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• 2018

Now labour policy of Moon Jae-in Administration is very different from the labour reform politics of the past ages in its structural conditions. Especially the difference is in the fact that the new labour policy is originated from the Candlelight Revolution in 2016 which has resisted to the 20years-long neoliberal domination. This kind of change in the political situation made a optimistic prediction with regard to the possibility of successful labour reform. However the future is in many points so uncertain that we could not confirm the success of labour reform at all. The uncertainty always resides in the structural unbalance between labour movement power and capitalist state power bloc in Korea. In this sense strategical orientation and practices of the democratic labour movement(KCTU) are very critical to produce some positive outcomes.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.155-175
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• 1999

본 연구는 대구 섬유산업의 재구조화를 지역 내.외적 요인들의 관계적 관점에서 분석하고, 이에 기초하여 지역경제 발전전략의 정책적 함의를 도출하기 위해 수행되었다. 1970년대 이후 대구 섬유산업은 정부의 중화학공업 정책과 수출지향적 경제발전 정책에 힘입어 화학섬유 중심의 대량생산과 수출체제를 수립하였다. 노동력 공급의 부족현상이 나타남에 따라 노동력을 안정적으로 확보하기 위해 산업체 특별학급.부설학교와 섬유기술진흥원을 설립하였고 또한 기혼여성 노동력을 활용하기 시작하였다. 그리고 생산시설은 대구시 외곽지역에 집중적으로 입지하였다. 1980년대 중반 이후 대구 섬유산업은 국내.외 환경변화에 따라 구조전환을 시도하고 있다. 지역노동시장에서 저임금 노동력 확보가 어렵게 됨에 따라 자동섬유기계의 도입을 증대시키고 기혼여성과 외국인 노동력을 적극적으로 활용하고 있으며, 자본과 생산시설을 경북이나 해외로 이동시키고 있다. 대구 섬유산업의 재구조화 정책은 섬유업체간에 협력체제의 구축, 노.사공생의 노동제도 확립, 섬유업과 연관된 생산자 서비스업의 육성 등을 중심으로 추진되어야 할 것이다.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.227-249
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• 2010

The purposes of this article are to criticize social services, and to consider alternative caring policies and social economic regime to cope with caring blank, in the view point of A. Gorz. According to Gorz, in the value of growth of capitalism, people who are in charge of household affairs and caring work make inroads into the wage market. At this point, as caring blank is occured, social services are emerged. These new aspects are 'Commodification and Rationalization of Private Life'. This article suggests alternative ideas to these aspects. First, universal care giver·breadwinner model, second, the dominance of eco-reason and shorter working hours.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.43-69
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• 2008

The labor contract Law has been prepared as an important solution for social stability. After long disputes around the orientations of the law, On June 29, 2007, the new Chinese labor contract law is passed. This law reflects the changing labor relations because of economic reforms like restructuring of the state-owned enterprises and so on. This law contains more market-oriented clauses that are supplemented by corporatist scheme supported by trade unions than the first draft. This law emphasize labor's rights and interests to remove prior labor contract problem. So Chines government see this law as standard law to restructure social relationship and also require firms to corporate social responsibility. Therefore, implementation of the new Chinese labor contract law bring about increasing labor cost, infringement of autonomy for human resource management, rigidity of industrial relations. Under these situation, Korean shipping and port logistics companies need to introduce management system of minimized employment, prepare human resource management in response to long-term employment, maintain favor relationship with trade union, and set up counteiplan about risk of a labor dispute.

• The Southeast Asian review
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.67-111
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• 2009

지난여름 베트남 남부의 호치민시와 인근의 공장지대는 전례 없는 파업의 확산을 경험했다. 연구자가 만난 한국기업의 매니저들은 이를 "파업의 도미노 현상"으로 묘사했다. 호치민시 노동조합의 고위간부는 "도이머이(Doi Moi) 이후 노사관계에 가장 혼란스러운 변화가 일어나고 있다"라고 단언하기도 했다. 본 연구는 한국계 다국적 공장을 사례로 1) 최근 파업의 정치경제학적 배경은 무엇인지를 살펴본 다음, 2) 왜 어떤 공장은 최근의 파업의 소용돌이 속에서 상대적으로 안전했던 반면 다른 기업은 그렇지 못했는지, 3) 왜 어떤 공장은 파업의 과정에서 협상을 성공적으로 이끈 반면 다른 기업은 그렇지 못했는지, 4) 최근의 파업이 개별 다국적 공장의 체제에 어떤 사회적, 문화적, 정치적 영향을 미쳤는지 살펴보고자 하였다. 연구자는 연구목적을 위하여 호치민 인근과 동나이에 위치한 약 20여개의 공장을 방문하였으며 서로 다른 특징을 가지고 있는 3개의 섬유공장을 선별하여 현지연구를 실시하였다. 이 가운데 첫 번째 공장은 연구자가 90년대 말 현지연구를 실시하여 공장체제의 성격을 잘 알고 있는 다국적 공장이었다. 나머지 두 공장은 재정 상황과 정치과정의 특징이 첫 번째 공장과 대조될 뿐 아니라 서로 다른 공장이었다. 세 공장을 비교 연구함으로써 연구자는 다국적 공장의 재정적 혹은 경제적 상태가 노동쟁의의 성격을 만드는 주요한 조건이 되지만, 회사의 경제적 조건이 양호하고 경영진이 온정주의적 철학을 실천하고 있다고 해서 파업을 미연에 방지할 수 없다는 점을 보여주고자 하였다. 호치민 인근의 파업이 크게는 세계적인 경제위기, 작게는 회사의 재정상태에 영향을 받고 있지만 특정 공장에서 노동쟁의가 일어나는가의 여부는 이 공장의 정치과정과 레짐의 성격에 의해 좌우된다는 점을 밝히고자 했다. 특히 다국적 공장의 정치과정의 안정을 위해서는 '매개자' 역할을 하는 베트남 중간간부, 사무실 직원, 노조간부 등의 역할이 매우 중요하였다. 이들이 위계적으로 그리고 사회문화적으로 다른 외국인 경영진과 공장 노동자의 갈등을 어떻게 흡수하고 중재하는가에 따라 공장체제의 안정 여부가 달려 있었다. 이번 파업은 각각 다른 정치경제적 조건을 가진 여러 공장의 경영진과 노동자가 이러한 사실을 새삼 깨닫게 하는 계기로 작용했다.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.177-208
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• 2011

This article examines that how in-house subcontract has been introduced and developed in metal industry in 1970s, focusing typical workplaces in steel industry. That was essential for the capital to insure control mechanism for large number of laborer because of mobilizing a large scale of capital in industrialization of heavy metal industry. In case of Pohang steel industry, this necessity was fulfilled by introduction and imitation of Japanese personnel management by being included of Japanese economic hinterland. This was embodied in both constructing internal labor market for regular workers and introducing in-house subcontracting system for contingent workers at workplaces. This was exceptional comparing in-house subcontracting system in Korean steel industry with in-house subcontracting system in advanced economies, because of disappearing in-house subcontracting system by making internal labor market. And this was closely linked by late development of Korea. Implications of Pohang steel company's case are as follows : first, late development effect in formation of employment system, second, in linking informality of Korean employment system. This implications mean that in-house subcontracting in steel industry is structured as mechanism for personnel management in large factory being influenced by industrialization of heavy industry. In this point, improvements which include wide economic solution beyond labor solution for present problem of in-house subcontracting system is desirable.