산별체제로의 전환과 법률적 쟁점의 재조명

For the last ten years, the geology of Korean labor relations has gone through a dynamic transition from company-based labor unions to industry-based labor union system. The IMF crisis at the end of 1990s was a catalyst that exposed the weaknesses of the company based union system, which resulted in the movement towards industry-based labor unions initiated by the labor side. On a glimpse, such a change is evaluated as effective when considering that this transition was a volunteered one, rather than an institutional one. It should be noted that the degree and scope of this transition differs from union to union in a great extent. However, it is important to note that the change toward industry-based union was not a flat, one-way process. For instance, whereas Federation of Korean Unions is in haste to move toward industry-based unions these days, industry-based unions in Korean Confederation of Trade Union tends to object or withdraw from the upper level organizations. It is easily expected that new kinds of dispute will emerge in the face of such a dynamic change in labor relations; which means existing labor theories needs to be reviewed to better suit our reality, in both academic perspectives and in practice. Moreover, in a comparative legal point of view, it is important to utilize lessons from other countries so as to better develope interpretation of Korean law and legal systems. With regards to systems, the relations between industry-based unions and decision-making bodies in a company(e.g. works councils and employee's representatives) is required to be repositioned. On the other hand, in terms of interpretation of law, various laws and cases needs to be reviewed in a critical point of view. For instance, decision-making capacity of the branch of a labor union, capacity for strikes, workers compensations law, and conflicts of collective agreements between different unions, etc. should be reviewed as we face the transitional period. This article aims to reflect such changes.