Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions hold up signs calling for a hike in the minimum wage during a rally in Seoul on June 24, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of labor union members in South Korea and the unionization rate, or the percentage of workers represented by a union, have both taken a downward turn, the labor ministry said Tuesday.
According to the ministry’s latest data, the number of organized workers shrank by 210,000 to 2.72 million in 2022, marking the first year-on-year decline in 12 years. The number of organized workers had steadily increased for 11 years since 2010, when there were 1.64 million members, reaching close to 3 million, or 2.93 million, in 2021.
The unionization rate also fell 1.1 percentage points to 13.1 percent in 2022, decreasing for the first time in seven years, the data showed. The rate had risen from 10.3 percent in 2016 to 14.2 percent in 2021.
The ministry said 431 new unions were established and 72,000 union members were added in 2022 but the total number of organized workers and the unionization rate decreased due to membership reductions in the construction sector and the correction of statistical errors.
By umbrella group, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions had 1.12 million and 1.1 million members, respectively, with 483,000 members unaffiliated, the ministry noted. The FKTU thus maintained its status as the nation’s largest umbrella labor group for the third consecutive year.
By corporate size, the unionization rate stood 36.9 percent at workplaces with more than 300 employees, 5.7 percent at workplaces with 100 to 299 employees and 1.3 percent at workplaces with 30 to 99 employees.
(Yonhap)
