KCTU resignation over scandal

On 9 February, the leaders of Korean Confederation of Trade Unions resigned en masse, accepting responsibility for a sexual assault scandal involving one of its senior officials. The scandal has put a dent in the prestige of the confederation, which has been the subject of intense scrutiny and criticism since the scandal broke.

The KCTU had allegedly been trying to convince a woman to keep quiet after she was the victim of an attempted sexual assault by a senior KCTU member. The woman had provided KCTU Chairman Lee Seok-haeng with safe hiding while he was on the run from government authorities in January of 2009. After Lee was arrested, the senior KCTU member attempted to rape her.

It was the fourth time since the union began in 1995 that its leadership has resigned. In 2002, its leaders stepped down over protests against a strike deal reached by the unionized workers of several power-generation firms. In 2005, the leadership resigned over a bribery case involving the organization’s deputy chairman.

Before the resignation of its leadership, the union confederation had been gearing up to confront issues such as the proposed revision of the Irregular Worker Protection Law and rising unemployment.

The scandal created much discussion among the media about KCTU and the culture of male domination in trade unions.