Son Kyung-sik, chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, met with Gilbert Houngbo, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO).<\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSon Kyung-sik, chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, told ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo that advances in artificial intelligence should translate into productivity gains and the creation of quality jobs. He also warned that the recently revised labor union law and the dispute over Samsung Electronics\u2019 performance-pay talks have heightened uncertainty in labor-management relations.<\/p>\n
According to the Federation on the 22nd, Son met with Houngbo during the latter\u2019s recent visit to South Korea. They exchanged views on global AI cooperation initiatives and on current challenges in Korea\u2019s labor market and industrial relations.<\/p>\n
The meeting was held as part of the South Korean government\u2019s push to establish a \u201cGlobal AI Hub.\u201d On the 21st, Seoul issued a joint statement launching the hub with nine international organizations, including the ILO, and several multilateral development banks.<\/p>\n
Son described the AI cooperation platform, which includes UN agencies such as the ILO, as \u201ca highly significant project,\u201d and welcomed Korea\u2019s role as a gateway for international AI collaboration given the country\u2019s leadership in the technology.<\/p>\n
He said that under the \u201cAI for ALL\u201d vision, the government and private sector plan to work with the international community to extend the benefits of AI across society. \u201cWe hope AI advances translate into higher productivity and the creation of quality jobs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that the initiative aligns with the ILO Director\u2011General\u2019s report, \u201cUsing AI for Quality Jobs,\u201d and stressed that the Korea Employers Federation is actively engaging in social dialogue with labor and government as a social partner to manage the AI transition effectively.<\/p>\n
The meeting also addressed issues in Korea\u2019s labor market and industrial relations.<\/p>\n
The revised labor union law, which took effect in March, expands the range of entities that can participate in bargaining. Because Korea\u2019s industrial structure often involves primary contractors, subcontractors and sub-subcontractors, the law now enables bargaining between unions at primary contractors and those at sub-subcontractors. That change has triggered a sharp increase in bargaining demands directed at primary contractors.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the ground, uncertainty about who can bargain and what can be bargained over has grown, and overall confusion in labor-management relations has intensified,\u201d Son said.<\/p>\n
The Federation also raised the dispute over Samsung Electronics\u2019 performance-pay negotiations. With the global semiconductor boom, Samsung\u2019s operating profit this year is expected to be around 300 trillion KRW (approximately 225 billion USD), and unions have pressed for a share of those gains, the Federation said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe semiconductor industry requires large, forward-looking investments,\u201d Son said. \u201cUnion demands for profit-sharing could create uncertainty for companies and for the national economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He noted that, although the dispute has not led to strikes, fairness concerns have continued to unsettle labor-management relations even after agreements are reached. \u201cThis raises equity issues across companies and industries, and it has deepened conflicts among divisions within firms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBusiness leaders are concerned these developments could spread across labor relations more broadly,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Son plans to attend next month\u2019s ILO conference as a representative of Korea\u2019s business community. \u201cI hope the conference yields balanced discussions that reflect each country\u2019s circumstances and the perspectives of labor, management and government,\u201d he said, expressing his wish for a successful meeting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Son Kyung-sik emphasized AI’s role in boosting productivity and job quality during a meeting with ILO’s Gilbert Houngbo amid labor uncertainties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/thumbnail\/2026\/05\/CP-2023-0067\/thumb-a700ac6f-97f5-430c-b863-3a63e1207061.jpg","footnotes":""},"categories":[278100],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-261511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social"],"yoast_head":"\n
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