06 December 2015•Update: 06 December 2015
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
Protesters hoping to derail South Korea’s planned labor reforms suffered a blow Sunday, as the finance ministry announced that all 313 of the country’s public corporations have agreed to adopt a contentious "wage peak system" -- just one day after a mass rally in the center of Seoul.
According to police at least 14,000 protesters braved the December cold to attend Saturday’s demonstration, although organizers placing that number at closer to 50,000.
A coalition of labor unions and civic groups brought a broad range of issues to the streets of the capital, as they had Nov. 14 -- but there was no repeat of last month’s violent police clashes, following which a 69-year-old man was left severely brain damaged.
If the rally was a victory for the freedom of peaceful expression, it did not necessarily score any political points beyond that.
A key element of both recent mass protests has been the concerted effort by labor unions to push back against the government’s labor reform plans.
Sunday’s news that the public sector has now fully embraced the wage peak system -- aimed at creating jobs for young people by lowering wages for those nearing an extended retirement age -- will be a major cause of concern among union leaders.
With around half of South Korea’s conglomerates also adopting the policy, skeptics have argued for months that the scheme will simply make it easier for management to cut costs rather than generate employment.
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) chief Han Sang-gyun issued a video message from a Buddhist temple where he is evading arrest: "The oppressive government cannot stop our fight."
While Han’s determination is not in doubt, he appears to be up against a silent majority who at least implicitly support the established order.
For example, thousands of masks of all varieties were on show during Saturday’s rally following President Park Geun-hye’s comparison of masked protesters with terrorists.
Yet the ruling Saenuri Party -- formerly led by Park -- may yet succeed in banning the concealment of identity during rallies, especially given that a Gallup Korea survey this week showed that 60 percent of 1,005 adult respondents backed the prohibition.
Even when the majority of the nation does not support a policy, that is still no guarantee of success for protesters -- as has been the case with the government’s move to issue state-published history textbooks from 2017.
Moreover, despite main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) chair Moon Jae-in marching among the masses Saturday, his party continues to weaken from within as it is yet to resolve an ongoing leadership crisis ahead of next year’s general election.
If the NPAD were to lose further ground to the ruling party, it would evidently offer labor unions and other groups even less influence at the National Assembly.
Saenuri spokesperson Shin Yee-jin responded to the latest demonstration with relief over its peaceful nature, raising "the need to set up a mature rally culture".
That will likely be put to the test this month, with another large-scale protest already being planned for Dec. 19 -- a bigger question remains whether these voices of discontent are actually being heard above the noise of mass gatherings, peaceful or otherwise.
