▲ People Power Party Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik shakes hands with Kim Dong-myeong, Chairman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), during a visit to the FKTU headquarters in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on June 19.
People Power Party (PPP) Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik visited the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) this morning (June 19) for his first official external engagement since taking office, emphasizing the importance of labor-management harmony.
Meeting with FKTU Chairman Kim Dong-myeong at the FKTU office in Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Floor Leader Jeong stated, "While there are many pending political issues, such as negotiations over the formation of the National Assembly, I decided to make the FKTU my first official external visit because I believe taking care of people's livelihoods and listening to the voices from labor sites should be our top priority."
Jeong continued, "A nation's economic prosperity and stability depend on how much the value of labor is respected and how labor and management coexist," adding, "We will spare no legislative or policy efforts to create a healthy economic ecosystem where the value of labor is properly respected, while companies can freely innovate and invest."
Chairman Kim offered a pointed welcome, noting, "The FKTU and the People Power Party have shown significant differences regarding labor policies," and added, "It is true that we have somewhat different positions on the approach and solutions to labor issues."
"I would like to emphasize once again the necessity of extending the legal retirement age," Kim said. "Extending the legal retirement age is a crucial task to address the serious issue of poverty among the elderly in our society and to promote employment stability."
He further added, "Guaranteeing the basic political rights of public officials and teachers is also an important legislative task," and expressed hope that "today's meeting will lead to tangible legislative achievements that improve the lives of workers."
The two sides held a closed-door meeting for approximately 30 minutes.
According to Chief Deputy Spokesperson Choi Su-jin, Chairman Kim mentioned the case where Samsung Electronics' labor and management faced a strike threat over performance-based bonuses, stating that "it is time to have a social discussion on the distribution of excess profits and to improve the environment where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer."
Spokesperson Choi explained that while Floor Leader Jeong did not directly mention the revision of the "Yellow Envelope Act," which is a key legislative priority for his party, he did state that "the growth of the labor sector and the corporate sector must go hand in hand."
Previously, on June 18, Floor Leader Jeong attended a seminar titled "100 Days of the Yellow Envelope Act: What Does the Field Say?" hosted by his party colleague Rep. Park Soo-min, where he stated, "We are preparing strong alternative legislation to prevent the damage caused by the Yellow Envelope Act, which is causing social chaos."
The People Power Party has been focusing on increasing engagement with the labor sector, including establishing a labor department within its party secretariat and appointing a special advisor for labor affairs last March.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.