S.Korean Unions Threaten Strike Ahead of World Cup

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, May 20, 2002

S.Korean Unions Threaten Strike Ahead of World Cup

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South Korean unions threatened to launch nationwide strikes in key sectors beginning Wednesday, just days ahead of the start of the World Cup finals, unless the government cuts the work week and scraps privatization plans.

The threatened strikes would involve thousands of taxi drivers, hospital workers and industrial unionists.

"We want the government to implement a five-day workweek," Yoon Young-mo, an official at the militant Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, told Reuters Monday. The umbrella union group has a total membership of 600,000.

"We are also demanding an end to privatizations for state-run utilities," he said.

The country's power union staged a six-week strike starting in late February, demanding the government drop its privatization plan.

Last week, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung asked his prime minister to meet labor unions and opposition lawmakers to urge them to avoid industrial and political unrest during the World Cup soccer finals which kick off in Seoul on May 31.

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