KCTU holds 10,000-strong general strike in Seoul, marches to Cheong Wa Dae

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions held a general strike rally of about 10,000 workers in central Seoul on Wednesday, pressing for direct bargaining between workers and prime contractors.

The central demand of the strike is the practical enforcement of prime contractors' employer responsibilities under the so-called "yellow envelope law" — the revised Trade Union Act that took effect in March.

The KCTU held its "July 15 General Strike Rally" in front of the Dongwha duty-free store in Jongno-gu, Seoul, at 3 p.m. Wednesday, under the banner of inaugurating direct bargaining with prime contractors and securing fundamental labor rights for all workers. Participants were set to march to Cheong Wa Dae after the rally.

The strike aimed squarely at pressuring prime contractors to expand direct negotiations with subcontracted workers and to embed the spirit of the revised union law in workplaces. The KCTU said it plans to publicly name prime contractors that have avoided bargaining and to call on the government to take an active role in making such negotiations a reality.

The union also put forward second-half legislative priorities, including formal recognition of special-employment and platform workers as employees and an expansion of minimum wage coverage.

KCTU Chairman Yang Gyeong-su said at an earlier press conference that over the past four months the union had demanded direct bargaining at about 400 workplaces, but actual negotiations had proceeded at only four. "If prime contractors continue to evade responsibility despite their clear status as employers, workers will have no choice but to fight," he said.

Affiliated unions also staged sector-wide strikes and pre-rally gatherings. The Korean Metal Workers' Union held strikes of four hours or more at individual workplaces, and its Seoul chapter held a rally in front of the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office at 1 p.m. before joining the main strike rally.

The National Care Workers' Union designated Wednesday a "day of pause," halting work entirely, while the Mart Workers' Union held a separate rally in front of Cheong Wa Dae over issues related to Homeplus. The Construction Industry Federation, the Democratic General Federation and the National Health and Medical Workers' Union also joined the strike. Regional general strike rallies were held across the country, including in Jeju, North Gyeongsang Province, Busan, Ulsan, Gwangju, North Jeolla Province and South Chungcheong Province.

The KCTU warned that if prime contractors still refuse to come to the bargaining table after the strike, it will mount an even larger campaign in the second half of the year.

Police deployed additional traffic officers around the Gwanghwamun area in anticipation of congestion from the rally and march, directing vehicles to detour routes and managing safety at the scene. Depending on conditions on the ground, traffic delays were possible on parts of Sejong-daero and Sajik-ro in central Seoul.