Yoon asks for report on labor unions’ accounting practices

President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed the labor minister on Friday to report back to him on the accounting practices of labor unions, saying transparent accounting is the starting point for labor union reform, his office said.

Yoon was briefed during a meeting with his senior secretaries earlier in the day on the refusal of some labor unions to disclose their account books, according to presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon.

“Unless we guarantee accounting transparency, there can be no reform,” Yoon was quoted as saying. “Transparency of labor union accounting is the starting point for labor union reform.”

Yoon asked Labor Minister Lee Jeong-sik to give him a comprehensive report on the issue next week, the spokesperson said.

Labor is one of the top three areas of reform being pursued under the Yoon administration, along with education and pensions.

In December, Yoon called for establishing a public disclosure system for labor unions’ accounting practices, saying preventing corruption and strengthening transparency at unions is essential to raising the country’s industrial competitiveness and promoting worker welfare.

According to the labor ministry, only 120 out of 327 labor unions and groups with 1,000 or more members complied with the government’s request for accounting records between Feb. 1-15.