Ko Young-ki set to descend from Incheon communications tower Thursday afternoon

Task force on taxi labor conditions launches as union shifts focus to policy reform

Park Jeong-hun, deputy chairman of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union, speaks at a press conference held Tuesday in front of the fountain at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, calling on the Lee Jae Myung government to resolve taxi worker Ko Young-ki's 100-day high-altitude protest. [Yonhap]
Park Jeong-hun, deputy chairman of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union, speaks at a press conference held Tuesday in front of the fountain at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, calling on the Lee Jae Myung government to resolve taxi worker Ko Young-ki's 100-day high-altitude protest. [Yonhap]

Ko Young-ki, a member of the taxi branch of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union, will come down to the ground Thursday after 194 days atop a communications tower, where he has been demanding an end to so-called "unpaid labor" and reform of the deemed working hours system.

The protest will end as a task force bringing together the government, labor and management representatives, and experts launches to investigate working conditions and focus discussions on policy reform.

The taxi branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' public service and transport union said Ko is scheduled to end his high-altitude sit-in at 5 p.m. Thursday. Ko has been staging the protest atop a roughly 20-meter-high communications tower in front of National Assembly member Maeng Seong-gyu's office near Gil Hospital intersection in Incheon, demanding reform of the deemed working hours system under Article 58 of the Labor Standards Act.

The union has argued that the deemed working hours system is being abused in the taxi industry and elsewhere, giving rise to what it calls "unpaid labor" — a practice in which workers who actually work 10 to 12 hours are credited with only two to three hours of work when wages are calculated.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held the first meeting of the tentatively named "Task Force on Working Hours and Labor Conditions in the Taxi Industry" Thursday morning at the Korea Institute for Vocational Education and Training in Jung-gu, Seoul. The TF includes labor and management representatives from the taxi industry, the government, and experts recommended by the tripartite body.

The government plans to use the TF to review existing research and overseas cases, gather input from labor and management, and draw up a concrete plan for the working-conditions investigation. The taxi branch said the probe will examine whether working hours are calculated using electronic equipment and whether workers operate under the direction and supervision of their employers.

The taxi branch said the government has pledged to pursue policy reforms — including revisions to enforcement decrees and guidelines — based on the investigation's findings. The union said it will wrap up the high-altitude protest and devote its efforts to the TF discussions.

"Though it is late, we accept the government's decision and urge that the subsequent TF process proceed in a reasonable and timely manner," the taxi branch said. It also called on the National Assembly to provide budget support and oversight to ensure the TF operates swiftly and effectively.


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