한국사회 불평등과 양극화 해소를 위한 산별노조체제로의 전환과 정책 과제

The most significant social problems caused by the 1997 IMF economic crisis in Korean society are the dual structure of the labor market and social inequality. This study aims to propose a transition to an industrial union system and specific policies as a solution to the problem of social inequality, which can be considered the most significant issue in our society, alongside the dual structure and polarization of jobs in the labor market. The main cause of inequality in Korean society can be found in the disparity in wage income among households’ market income, and the proportion of inequality in property income has also been gradually increasing recently. The factor decomposition results of the Gini coefficient indicate that employment type, length of service, and company size have the greatest impact on wage inequality. However, concerning its influence on wage inequality, the impact of the retention factor has been weakening in recent years, while the influence of employment type and company size has been gradually increasing. These problems of wage inequality and the dual labor market structure based on employment type and company size make it even more difficult to find a solution in the current corporate union system. which pursues individual rationality. Therefore, revising the law for the transition to an industrial union system and introducing a system to enhance the effectiveness of collective agreements can not only serve an opportunity to transform Korea’s labor-management relations from the 1987 labor system to 21st-century labor system and create a new landscape for labor politics but also alleviate inequality and polarization in Korean society.