On Thursday 13 December, the European Union strongly called upon South Korea to do more to respect labour rights.
According to a statement by the European External Action Service (EEAS), at the meeting of the EU/South Korea Committee, the European delegation "strongly called" upon Seoul to respect the fundamental principles of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) "namely trade union rights and the right to collective bargaining", as well as the ratification of four outstanding ILO fundamental conventions. These agreements cover trade union rights, collective bargaining and forced labour.
According to the EEAS, South Korea replied that continued efforts were being made in this regard and that this was part of the current government's political agenda. "These issues will be discussed further at the Ministerial Committee on Trade meeting in April 2019," the statement said.
The European institutions have regularly expressed their concern about the limited progress made in Seoul on labour rights, particularly in the areas of trade and sustainable development of the free trade agreement between the two entities ().
At the Joint Committee, the EU and South Korea also agreed to strengthen their cooperation. "The EU-Republic of Korea partnership is becoming deeper and stronger and the Joint Committee identified areas for enhanced cooperation," the statement said, citing security cooperation in particular, in the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the sustainable development goals in Africa and ASEAN countries as part of their political dialogue on development, and in the defence of human rights in international forums.
The EU and South Korea also decided to strengthen their bilateral cooperation on connectivity, to establish a new political dialogue on transport and to examine ways to increase cultural cooperation. The foundations for the first high level dialogue on the digital economy have also been laid. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with Hermine Donceel)