106. The ILO Fundamental Conventions No. 87 and No. 98 and the ILO Committee on
Freedom of Association view a worker, a broader concept than an employee, as the subject of
the right to organize. As technology advances, the way labor is provided is also becoming
more diverse. In light of this reality, it is necessary to revise the concept of worker under the
Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act to protect the labor rights of diverse
workers.
107. Requiring workers to pay large sums of damages for their trade union activities by
employers can cause serious economic hardship to workers and hinder the exercise of labor
rights, including the right to organize. Therefore, institutional improvement and legislative
protection are needed to address this issue.
108. Proposed recommendation: The State party should amend relevant laws in accordance
with the ILO Fundamental Conventions No. 87 and No. 98 so that workers including workers
in special types of employment, platform workers and subcontracted workers can be fully
protected in exercising their labor rights such as the right to organize and the right to
collective bargaining.107
Issue 24. Right to Political Participation
109. While the United States and several OECD member countries generally allow public
officials to engage in political activities, Korea restricts even the political expression of
public officials in their private capacity as a citizen and unrelated to their official duties.
Relevant laws, such as the State Public Officials Act, the Local Public Officials Act, and the
Public Official Election Act, do not clearly distinguish whether public officials and teachers
use their position and authority as public officials or exercise their political rights as citizens
in their personal and social spheres of life. Instead, they prohibit the political freedom of
public officials altogether on the basis of a vague concern that it could undermine their
political neutrality.108
110. The NHRCK, in February 2019, issued its opinion and recommendation to the National
Assembly and the Government,109 calling for legislative improvement to guarantee the
political freedom of public officials and teachers.110 The NHRCK reasoned that the laws,
which completely restrict the political freedom of public officials and teachers, were in
breach of the principle of clarity and proportionality; failed to reflect the shift of State’s
function toward ‘functional power control’ in democratic countries; and failed to recognize
the changing role of public officials as internal watchdogs beyond their role as conductors.
However, the Government did not adopt the recommendation, citing the need for social
consensus. The National Assembly has not taken any specific legislative action, either.
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