| National organization(s) | KCTU, FKTU |
|---|---|
| Global Rights Index | |
5 No guarantee of rights | |
| International Labour Organization | |
| South Korea is a member of the ILO | |
| Convention ratification | |
| Freedom of Association | 20 April 2021 |
| Right to Organise | 20 April 2021 |
The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on December 30, 2021, that as of 2020, 14.2% of workers were in trade unions in South Korea, a 1.7% increase from 12.5% in 2019. Korea's unionization rate peaked in 1989 at 19.8% and fell to 10% 2004.[1]
There are two national trade union centres in South Korea: the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). In 2007, the FKTU had 1,153,863 members (41.1% of trade unionists in Korea), the KCTU had 1,134,056 members (40.4%), and 516,714 workers were members of independent trade unions affiliated to neither national centre.[1]
- ^ a b FKTU becomes S. Korea's biggest umbrella union in 2020: gov't yonhap news, December 30, 2021.