Lee Jae Myung says he will not take labor’s side automatically, orders checks on illegal conduct at construction sites

President Lee Jae Myung has ordered South Korea’s labor minister to examine possible illegal activity by unions at construction sites, responding to a social media post calling for greater scrutiny.

Lee shared a user’s post on X that asked him to pay attention to illegal acts allegedly committed by unions in the construction industry. The post described a strong public view that the country’s two major unions in the sector were “social evils” and “criminal groups,” and questioned why authorities conducted regular inspections of construction sites without investigating alleged union wrongdoing.

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I or Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon may come from working-class backgrounds, but we do not automatically take workers’ side.

Thanking the user for the opinion, Lee said he and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon had both come from working-class backgrounds, but would not take workers’ side in every dispute. He said the government was seeking a fair and reasonable balance when managing competing interests between labor and management.

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Whether what happens at construction sites is an exercise of legitimate labor rights or illegal and improper conduct must be determined according to the specific case.

Lee added that each case must be assessed individually. Authorities must determine whether conduct at a construction site falls within workers’ legitimate labor rights or amounts to illegal or improper activity. He asked people with specific examples of alleged union misconduct to send the material to the labor minister’s office.

Kim responded to Lee’s X post that he would immediately inspect conditions at construction sites and report back.

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I will immediately inspect the situation on the ground and report back.