“Gyeonggi Province Does Not Serve Labor Unions, but Serves Citizens.”

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-Soo reached a peaceful agreement with the labor unions and management of 10 public corporations of Gyeonggi Province, and declared a peaceful, humanistic, labor-management-government reconciliation.

Governor Kim signed the declaration at the Labor-Management-Politics Cooperative Model Declaration Ceremony, which was held in the briefing room of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Complex in Suwon on May 12, 2009. The ceremony was attended by leaders and labor union members of ten public corporations of Gyeonggi Province, including the Gyeonggi Urban Innovation Corporation, the Gyeonggi Small and Medium Business Center, the Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center, the Gyeonggi Technopark, the Gyeonggido Culture & Art Center, the Gyeonggi Credit Guarantee Foundation, the Korea Advanced Nano Fab Center, KINTEX, the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization, and the World Ceramic Exposition Foundation.

Representatives of labor, management, and the provincial government came to an agreement through a shared recognition that “Humanity is our only hope” to overcome the current challenges. The management representatives promised that they will strive to retain the current employee base, while the labor unions pledged to actively participate in training programs provided by management and cooperate to overcome the crisis through the Job Sharing Campaign.

Gyeonggi Province will work continuously to strengthen labor-management relations, provide housing support for long-term employees, provide financial support for small and medium-sized companies, and activate R&D partnerships between universities and research centers in order to support both management and the labor.

Governor Kim said, “Labor has put the selfish ideas of old behind it. The true spirit of the labor union should come from altruism and patriotism. Gyeonggi Province cannot be the world’s leading local government without your collective efforts. It is time to create an ideal working culture with the aim of serving the citizens who are the owners of public organizations.”

Governor Kim also emphasized, “Gyeonggi Province does not serve labor unions, but serves citizens. Evaluations will be made by citizens. A humanistic, citizen-focused approach is the most important thing.”

There are 26 public organizations in Gyeonggi Province in total, and 10 organizations with labor unions attended the ceremony. Governor Kim announced “The Joint Declaration to Overcome Crisis, Stabilize Employment, and Achieve Future Growth” in February of 2009 jointly with the Gyeonggi Headquarters of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, the Gyeonggi Employers Federation, the Federation of Gyeonggi Chambers of Commerce, the Kyongin Regional Ministry of the Republic of Korea, and the Gyeonggi Regional Small and Medium Business Administration.