On 14 December, South Korea’s National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol with more than a two-thirds majority. Consequently, Yoon’s duties have been suspended, and the Constitutional Court now has up to 180 days to decide whether to remove him from office. Considering the gravity of his act of rebellion to subvert constitutional orders—by criticizing opposition parties for not aligning with his views and using the military and police to storm the legislature, as well as to suppress the rights and freedoms of the people—the National Assembly’s decision should be seen as entirely justified.
The decree issued by Yoon on the night of 3 December, which accompanied the declaration of martial law banning all political activities, controlling the media, and prohibiting workers’ rights such as assemblies and strikes, was nothing less than a blatant abuse of power and a direct assault to the rule of law. Although the decree was revoked within approximately six hours at the National Assembly’s request, it remains a stark example of an authoritarian overreach. While an earlier impeachment motion was defeated due to the opposition from the ruling party, the strong public demand for accountability through impeachment ultimately led some ruling party lawmakers to support the motion on 14 December. This impeachment was a victory won by the people. Once again, the world witnessed how mature and resilient democracy grounded on people’s power prevails against all regressive force.
In this regard, we take pride in recognising the Korean labour movement led by our affiliates, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) from the onset of the declaration, as a major force in pushing for a grand social reform that guarantees fundamental workers’ rights for all workers in Korea, including relevant amendments to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act (TULRAA) and the Labor Standards Act. This only marks the beginning of our collective struggle, as Yoon remains irrationally firm in his vow to fight back until the end. The KCTU and the FKTU continue to be fully committed to their efforts in bringing Yoon, the ringleader of this rebellion, and his accomplices to justice, while restoring democracy and realising human and fundamental workers’ rights. As clearly emphasised in our statement on 4 December, the International Trade Union Confederation – Asia Pacific (ITUC-AP) continues to stand in strong solidarity with our affiliates in their ongoing struggles.
Amid heightened tensions with North Korea, increasing domestic and regional instability, sluggish consumer demands, and a struggling domestic economy, the burden of this turmoil falls heavily on the people. Thus, both the ruling and opposition parties must work together to foster open dialogues with the people, most importantly with workers and their trade unions, to urgently resolve the ongoing crisis, and to strive to restore economic and social stability in ways that would earn the people’s trust.
Shoya Yoshida
General Secretary
ITUC-Asia Pacific
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