South Korea's labor federations reject new union act guidelines as rights violation

South Korea's two major labor federations demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Ministry of Employment and Labor's new interpretation guidelines for the Trade Union Act, calling them a violation of constitutional labor rights. The guidelines state that demands for performance bonuses linked to corporate profits like sales or net income are not subject to mandatory bargaining or strikes. The federations argue this is an arbitrary administrative interpretation that restricts workers' rights and favors employers. They also criticized provisions limiting bargaining on management decisions and allowing labor commissions to urge mediation, claiming these undermine union rights and the neutrality of dispute resolution.