• 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 Social Welfare Studies
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• no.39
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• pp.365-393
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• 2008

This research examnied the roles, the strategies and the influence of labor unions on the pension reform. In Italia labor unions were important actors in pension reform politics during 1990s, but in 2004 labor union was excluded from the pension reform. This difference is not only related with diffusion of the leftist party but also the experience of pension benefit retrenchment of the pension reform in 1995 in which labor unions had initiatives. Labor unions choose their strategies, social dialogue or mass struggle, depending on the attitudes of government. After change of government following the failure of the pension reform in 1994 Italian government tried social dialogue. In Dini reform in 1995, laborunions had initiative in making pension reform plan. Labor unions obtained member's approval using membership vote. It had repressed opposition from militant sectors effectively. However Labor unions concentrated on the issues of transition measures and protecting vested rights in seniority pension ignoring problems of contribution evasion of small-firm workers and benefit adequacy of young workers. Even when labor unions leaded social concertation processes and pursued union democracy, labor unions' influences on the pension reform had fundamental limitations.