Labor Minister Urges KCTU to Rejoin Korea’s Tripartite Dialogue

South Korea’s employment and labor minister has urged the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions to return to the country’s permanent tripartite dialogue, saying the government has accepted the conditions the labor group put forward for renewed participation.

Minister Kim Young-hoon said the remaining institutional details should be negotiated inside the Economic, Social and Labor Council, which brings together labor, management and government. He argued that confidence in the process must be built through participation rather than made a prerequisite for talks.

The KCTU has stayed outside the standing national dialogue framework since withdrawing from the council’s predecessor in 1999. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions has consequently been the only major labor umbrella group represented, prompting longstanding criticism that the council does not fully reflect organized labor.

Pressure for the KCTU to reconsider has grown as Korea confronts changes including wider artificial intelligence adoption, the expansion of platform and special-employment work, and proposals for special labor rules in large economic zones. At a delegates’ meeting this week, the confederation sought to vote on returning under three conditions: consensus-based decision-making, guaranteed participation for industry-level unions and a new name for the council. The meeting lost its quorum after opponents walked out before the ballot.

Kim said President Lee Jae Myung supports a consensus-based approach. He also maintained that industry unions can participate under current law and that the council’s chair has left open the possibility of changing the institution’s name.

The KCTU is already taking part in a limited dialogue focused on proposed labor provisions for special economic zones. Kim described the launch of those talks as partial progress and said their outcome could determine whether skeptics become more willing to join a permanent framework. He tied that process to broader goals of industrial development, regional growth and youth employment.

The minister also addressed several other labor-policy issues. On a planned extension of the retirement age, he called for different approaches depending on the workplace, noting that longer employment at public institutions and large companies could create tension with hiring younger workers. He said smaller or less sought-after workplaces face a different challenge because they struggle to attract young people even without mandatory retirement rules.

Kim also advocated gradual deliberation over extending labor protections to workplaces with fewer than five employees and said the government is researching minimum-remuneration protections for freelancers and workers in special-employment arrangements. He added that legislation for a Workplace Basic Act should advance during this year’s regular National Assembly session.

Separately, a government-backed discussion on a new social contract for the artificial intelligence era is identifying core questions for public debate. Kim said the aim is to conduct roughly two years of deliberation and present a blueprint within the current presidential term.