• 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.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.377-413
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• 2008

세계 경제의 환경 변화로 제조업 부문은 경쟁 압력과 함께 구조조정 압력에 직면하고 있다. 특히, 석유화학 산업은 대표적인 장치산업이란 특징으로 인해 중국과 중동의 대규모 신규 설비투자가 한국 석유화학 산업에 커다란 구조조정 압력으로 작용하고 있다. 정부가 정책대안의 1순위로 꼽는 인수합병 계획으로 인해 대규모 고용조정과 함께 비정규직 증가가 초래될 가능성이 크다. 석유화학산업의 고용형태는 '핵심-주변'으로 이원화되어 있으며 '구조조정 = 비정규직 증가'로 나타나고 있기 때문이다. 프랑스의 구조조정 대응 사례를 통해 정부의 능동적 개입과 노조의 적극적 대안 추구 노력이 구조조정에 따른 고용 문제의 해결책을 마련해 낼 수 있음을 알 수 있다. 정부는 석유화학산업의 당면 과제인 산업 내 양극화를 극복하고 산업연관체계를 재구축하기 위한 능동적 역할을 담당해야 한다. 또한 지역차원의 고용안정시스템의 구축을 위해 지방정부의 능동적 역할이 요구된다. 특히, 도급구조로 이원화된 노동력 구조를 극복하기 위해서 건설플랜트노동자를 비롯해 하청구조 하의 다양한 비정규직의 이해를 반영하는 교섭틀 구축이 중요하다. 노동조합은 전체 노동자를 포괄하는 위치에서만 산업정책에 대한 개입력을 높여나갈 수 있다. 사회연대적, 사회운동적 노동조합주의라는 새로운 정체성 하에서만 적극적인 산업재편 개입전략의 토대를 형성할 수 있다.

• 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.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.81
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• pp.122-152
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• 2017

The media movement is a movement to separate from the political power and to dismantle the media power and to seek the control of citizens' media. Political power is the biggest factor that violates the fairness and independence of the media in the public domain. On the other hand, the factor that interferes with the healthy and responsible media of the press in the private sector is the media power originating from the owner. Citizens 'media campaign emphasizes citizens' mobility as a subject that monitors the political power and media power that have the sovereignty of the media belonging to the citizen and may infringe on this sovereignty.In the Lee Myung Bak - Park Geun Hye regime, the civil press movement was a period of resistance and struggle. Citizen media campaigns have completely collapsed with governance. As a result, the intellectuals who have expertise in the media have lost their place in the discussion and presentation of the policy alternatives in which the policy production is centered. The influence of citizen media organizations, which are centered on activists rather than citizen's direct action, is limited. In order to strengthen the power of the media reform, it is necessary to reconstruct social forces such as civil society, media unions, media organizations and political forces. We should also look for various ways in which citizens can participate actively in the agenda and activities of the movement. In addition, it is necessary to expand the movement of the media.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.143-178
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• 2018

This study is aimed at empirically examining the Korean unionists' solidarity using the survey of 476 full-time workers employed at the unionized workplace. It also questions the determinants affecting the unionist' willingness to be united with the contingent workers. The Korean unionism has faced the biggest challenge, that is, the crisis-in-worker solidarity. Although prior literature has noted the crisis in Korean unionism, it lacks a solid investigation of individual workers' perception of solidarity which may play a key role in building up worker-solidarity in the union movement. This study first examines the three sources of solidarity allowing for the historical and theoretical approach to the modern solidarity; economic interests, worker-identification and empathy, which provide an emprical framework for this study. The empirical evidences shows dynamic aspects as of how the full-timers perceive solidarity with the non-regular workers in the three terms of solidarity. First, full-time unionists share rare willingness to be united with contingent workers in terms of economic solidarity. In addition, the KCTU (Korean Confederation of Trade Unions) with social reformative orientation has little influence on increasing their member's orientation towards solidarity. Second, it is found that full-time unionists have more willingness to identify themselves with the non-regular workers as a member of the labor class. The KTCU is also positively associated with their member's will of identification with contingent workers. Third, the unionists, however, show little empathy toward non-regular workers, which is contrast to the willingness to worker identification. No causality is also found between the KTCU and their members' empathy for the others.