Food for Thought: Free download of book on food industry

As is my principle, I DO NOT appreciate the traditional publishing houses ripping off authors. So to make a point, I have always released my books for FREE, only in digital formats. You could say I never got publishers, so this is a face-saving exercise.
What if I told you that I didn't approach them at all? Whatever...
Please find the link to my non-fiction book- Food for Thought.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/404692

The role of the Food Industry in helping consumers eat healthily and sustainably received considerable attention in recent years. While the food companies continue to produce enough affordable, quality food for the fast-growing and increasingly prosperous global population, they face a very challenging and volatile environment. Despite being a multi-trillion dollar industry, the worldwide food business’ annual growth is limited to the world’s population base. Competition is intense within the industry, especially in mature markets.This handbook is a compilation of 5 essays on the various important issues that the industry should always monitor. These include: Water Challenges, Food Waste, Climate Change, IP Rights, and Aging Population.

Download it, if you think it might be useful for you. If not, what the hell, it is FREE :0  BTW, I also wrote  two other non-fiction books and a novel- the download links are on your right!

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Scattered Fates - a novel on the second partition of India

Interested in Indian fiction? Alternate history?
FREE download of my novel Scattered Fates.
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It is an alternate history novel, which unwraps in the backdrop of violent anti-Hindi agitations that rocked the State of Tamil Nadu (India) 50 years ago, narrated over two time frames – 1965 and 2005. It is the story of a son's search for the truth about his father's disappearance and the political intrigue that led to India's second partition into South & North, intertwined with the history of Korea

Extended Description

SCATTERED FATES is an alternate history novel, which unwraps in the backdrop of violent anti-Hindi agitations that rocked the State of Tamil Nadu and is narrated over two time frames – 1965 and 2005.
It is the story, in lucid conversational style, of Subbaiah, a university professor who gets drawn to the ideology of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, a political party that opposed the imposition of Hindi as the sole national language on 60 percent of the country’s population. He is entrusted with the task of rallying students to protest against the government’s decision to remove English as an official Indian language. The violence that follows spreads across South India, and the military is called in to restore order.
He shelters Moon, a young injured foreign exchange student from Corea. While recuperating in his house, Moon gets acquainted with the culture and traditions of his host, including the intricacies of the caste system, thanks to his inquisitive nature and friendly banter with Subbaiah’s neighbor and best friend Ganapathy, a Brahmin, who is initially against this movement led by the backward castes, but slowly changes his mind.
Moon is put on the first flight home as the civil war spirals out of control.
Starting as a minor party functionary, Subbaiah ends up playing a crucial role in the freedom movement that ultimately leads to the second partition of India into Dravida (South India) and Hindustan (North India). He is even tipped to be the first Finance Minister of his newly independent country, but loses out to his political rival.
A decade after independence, Subbaiah suddenly disappears without a trace. While everyone assumes that Hindustan spies abducted him, there are also doubts that he may have willingly defected to enemy territory.
Thirty years later, Subbaiah’s son Naga, a journalist in Dravida, Asia’s most prosperous capitalist economy, plays host to Maya, a beautiful online friend from Corea who comes visiting for her research. She has strong sympathies for the socialist ideology and is pursuing her PhD on countries divided by civil wars. While helping her get acquainted with his country’s cultural traditions, they encounter a retired university professor, Ganapathy, who denies knowing Subbaiah, reacting in a suspicious and evasive manner. They are convinced that he is hiding something, suspect his role in Subbaiah’s disappearance, and are determined to unravel the truth.
The duo finally manages to get the truth out. It was not something they were prepared to hear.

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Red Star Operating System

More news on North Korea’s N. Korea's 'Red Star' operating system.

North Korea's new "Red Star" computer operating system is mainly designed to control the flow of information on the Internet tapped by users, a review by a state-run think tank said.
The Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI) said a detailed technical analysis of Red Star version 1.1 shows it is a Linux-based operating system with low-end options similar to those found in products that reached the market in the early 2000s.
It added that while it is similar to the ubiquitous Windows OS, emphasis has been placed on meeting security and other local requirements. There is only one Korean-language version of the system and due to the limited number of compatible applications there is little likelihood of its being put to wider use.
STEPI's study is the first technical analysis of the Red Star OS that was first developed in 2002 by the North's Korea Computer Center. Prior to its introduction, Pyongyang used the English versions of Microsoft Windows.
A Russian student in Pyongyang recently purchased an updated version of the Red Star and introduced it on his blog, though this was not a specialized review.
"The review was needed to get an estimate of how far North Korea's OS software has progressed," the STEPI report said. It added that Red Star represents North Korea's attempt to overcome the country's isolation in the computer field while at the same time coping with security concerns.
The communist country maintains close tabs on information and data into and out of the country and does not permit its people to freely surf the World Wide Web, with particular emphasis on prohibiting visits to South Korean Internet sites.
The institute under the education and science ministry said there is almost no political content and that developers have continuously updated the Red Star OS over the years.

One bright side to this is that atleast the country is not shackled to Microsoft like South Korea.

"In short, South Korea is a sad example of a Microsoft monoculture where the course of history and the lack of anti-monopoly oversight have created a nation where every computer user is a Windows user and banking or ecommerce or any secure transaction on the Internet with South Korean entities must be done with Internet Explorer on a Windows OS."

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The advantage of being rich and famous in Korea

If you are rich in Korea, everything is forgiven! Even if you drive your company bankrupt and run away like a coward, or cheat your shareholders and evade taxes, you will eventually be pardoned. The trick is to lay low for about a year and come back on the public stage, lecturing others on how to make Korea a great nation...
Take former Daewoo Group Chairman Kim Woo-choong. He was on the list for the Interpol when he was in exile, because of how he left the company with insurmountable debt.
He was arrested soon after he returned to South Korea on June 14, 2005, and apologized "for hurting the nation and accepted full responsibility for the collapse of the group, adding he is ready to accept whatever the authorities have in store for him." In May 2006 he was sentenced to 10 years in jail after being found guilty of charges including embezzlement and accounting fraud. 21 trillion won ($22bn) of his fortune was seized and he was fined an additional 10m won. On 30 December 2007, he was granted amnesty by President Roh Moo-hyun.
Now he is back, and in style. Lecturing Daewoo employees (the very people whom he cheated) on how to make Korea an enormous power!

He spoke on Monday about the need to usher in a new generation of talented workers at a ceremony marking the 43th anniversary of the defunct conglomerate.
It was the 74-year-old founder’s first public appearance since a similar event held a year ago and only his second in the past decade.
“Koreans are the best in the world,” he told a crowd of Daewoo executives and employees gathered for the ceremony. “If we can train 200,000 people to become someone like me, Korea would be an enormous power.”
Kim was enthusiastic during his short speech, though he walked into the hall at the Millennium Hilton Hotel - which used to belong to the group - near Mount Namsan with the help of aides who held his arms. Toward the end of the ceremony, Kim unexpectedly snatched away the microphone from a person at the podium leading the crowd in singing what was the company’s trademark song.
“Let’s meet again in seven years for the 50th anniversary of Daewoo,” Kim said. “Next time we all should bring our family. I’ll empty my wallet to raise money for that.”

Then of course there is the de facto Emperor of Korea- Lee Kun-hee.
In early 2008, his home and office were raided by the Korean police for an ongoing probe into accusations that Samsung is responsible for a slush fund used to bribe influential prosecutors, judges, and political figures in South Korea. After the second round of questioning by the South Korean prosecutors , he was quoted by reporters saying "I am responsible for everything. I will assume full moral and legal responsibility.” On April 21, he officially resigned as Chairman & CEO of Samsung Group, and stated: "We, including myself, have caused troubles to the nation with the special probe; I deeply apologize for that, and I'll take full responsibility for everything, both legally and morally."
It did not take long for the Seoul Central District Court to find him guilty on charges of financial wrongdoing and tax evasion. Prosecutors requested that Lee be sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $347 million. The court fined him $109 million and sentenced him to 3 years suspended jail time.
On December 29, 2009, President Lee Myung-bak pardoned him.
As president Lee publicly stated: “In order to win the bid for the Winter Olympics in 2018 at Pyeongchang, which is making a bid for the third time, sports and business circles as well as Gangwon residents have strongly appealed that his role as a member of the International Olympic Committee is crucial. I decided to grant a pardon for the sake of national interest.”
Now he is back, and in style!

Mr. Lee, who is 68 years old, will return as chairman of the manufacturer of memory chips, cellphones and TVs, the company said Wednesday morning. However, Mr. Lee will not be on the company's board, which has a separate chairman, a spokesman said. Instead, he will retake a title in keeping with the tradition of South Korean family-led companies.
The move opens a new chapter in Samsung's long effort to balance its desire to keep control in the hands of its founding family while also permitting professional management with enough oversight by directors to be acceptable to a broad group of investors.

October 29, 2007 -- Kim Yong-chul, a former in-house lawyer with Samsung Group, reveals during a press conference the existence of some 5 billion won (US$4.4 million) in secret funds held by the group.
January 10, 2008 -- A special prosecutorial team, led by Cho Joon-woong, is launched to investigate allegations involving the secret funds held by Samsung Group.
April 17, 2008 -- Prosecutors indict Chairman Lee on charges of breach of trust and tax evasion involving dubious bond transactions allegedly aimed at transferring wealth to his only son Jae-yong.
April 22, 2008 -- Chairman Lee steps down from his post after being convicted of tax evasion, while Samsung Group unveils a plan to reshuffle its management in order to enhance transparency.
July 16, 2008 -- A Seoul court hands down a three-year jail term for Lee and a five-year suspended prison sentence with a fine of 110 billion won.
December 29, 2009 -- The government grants Lee a special pardon, saying that as a member of the International Olympic Committee he will be able to help win the nation's bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.
March 24, 2010 -- Lee returns as chairman of South Korea's biggest company, Samsung Electronics, 23 months after his resignation.
Just 23 months and he's back!
While we are at it, let us not forget Chung Mong-koo,chairman of Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, the second-largest Chaebol in South Korea.
In 2006, he and his family were targeted by the Seoul Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office as part of an investigation into embezzling 100 billion won ($106 million USD) from Hyundai to create slush funds. Despite a travel ban, Chung left South Korea in April 2006. Chung was arrested on 28 April 2006 on charges related to embezzlement and other corruption. He was convicted of embezzlement and breach of fiduciary duty on 5 February 2007 and sentenced to three years of prison. He remained free on bail while he appealed the sentence. On September 6, 2007, Chief judge Lee Jae-Hong ruled to suspend the sentence of Chung Mong-koo (in consideration of the huge economic impact of imprisonment), ordering instead of a 3-year jail term, the performance of community service and a $1 billion donation to charity.
Then again, there is Kim Seung Youn, Hanwha Group chairman, who punched Room Saloon workers after they got into a fight with his son.
WELCOME TO KOREA!

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HP Slate takes on iPad

Even as I am excitedly waiting for the iPad to go on sale, i was caught unawares by the news that HP is ready with its own version of a tablet called Slate that will run Windows 7 operating system and support Flash. While the above videos that the company released looks promising, one will have to wait and see. I have never been a fan of the windows OS and am pretty sure that I will settle for the iPad. Just hope that the HP tablet does not keep crashing as frequently as the desktop/laptop versions!

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Linux Mint- a fantastic alternative to Windows

I have never been a fan of Windows and found the outdated capabilities of the operating system an annoyance. For this reason, I stopped using my desktop computer at home (with Windows OS) and switched over to an iMac 2 years ago. Prior to that I had also bought a Macbook for my girlfriend and found that the learning curve was really not as steep as people made it out to be.

Slowly but surely I got infatuated with my Mac and have never looked back since. Although, I still use Windows at work, since this is Korea, and there is no way out  ! Moreover since my girlfriend needs to use Internet Explorer for all her banking needs I resultantly partitioned my iMac to install Windows 7.
This arrangement works beautifully for me. I use the Mac OS part while my girlfriend uses the Windows section. However, I couldn’t but help notice my old desktop gathering dust in a corner. So I decided to make better use of it, and bought an S-cable to hook it up to my 42 inch TV to watch streaming video. The only problem was that my computer kept crashing (which, while not surprising, was really very frustrating).
Last Sunday, I finally got fed up with the blue screen of death and decided to try out the GNU/Linux variants. This was not my first attempt at installing Linux on my computer, having done so a couple of years ago. At that time, I gave up because of the steep learning curve. This time however, my internet research showed that many of the Linux distros have advanced GUI capabilities, with many more software options. So finally I narrowed down on 3 distros- Ubuntu , Linux Mint and Mandriva . I would have loved to try Red Star, but couldn't find it anywhere ;)
Anyway, I installed all the three of them (takes just 20 minutes to install), one at a time to test out the different capabilities and then decided to stick with Linux Mint.
Originally launched as a variant of Ubuntu with integrated media codecs, it has now developed into one of the most user-friendly distributions on the market - complete with a custom desktop and menus, several unique configuration tools, a web-based package installation interface, and a number of different editions. Perhaps most importantly, this is one project where the developers and users are in constant interaction, resulting in dramatic, user-driven improvements with every new release.
Some of the key advantages of Linux Mint are:

•It's one of the most community driven distributions. You could literally post an idea in the forums today and see it implemented the week after in the "current" release. Of course this has pros and cons and compared to distributions with roadmaps, feature boards and fixed release cycles we miss a lot of structure and potentially a lot of quality, but it allows us to react quickly, implement more innovations and make the whole experience for us and for the users extremely exciting.

•It is a Debian-based distribution and as such it is very solid and it comes with one of the greatest package managers.

•It is compatible with and uses Ubuntu repositories. This gives Linux Mint users access to a huge collection of packages and software.

•It comes with a lot of desktop improvements which make it easier for the user to do common things.

•There is a strong focus on making things work out of the box (WiFi cards drivers in the file system, multimedia support, screen resolution, etc).

As this blogger states- “Simple: The derivative is better.”

I would highly recommend it to anyone who if fed up of Windows, but afraid to switch over to the Mac. Best of all, it is free!

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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The next book on my reading list is definitely going to be “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”

It tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor black tobacco farmer who was the unwitting donor of cells from her cancerous tumor, which were cultured to create an immortal cell line for medical research. This is now known as the HeLa cell line and has had a groundbreaking impact on modern medicine. The book tracks the story of the source of the HeLa cells, Henrietta Lacks, and documents the cell line's impact on both modern medicine and the Lacks family.

Born in 1920, she died from an aggressive cervical cancer at 31, leaving behind five children. No obituaries of Mrs. Lacks appeared in newspapers. She was buried in an unmarked grave.
The cells taken from her tumor, without permission, were put into mass production and traveled around the globe- even into space, on an unmanned satellite to determine whether human tissues could survive zero gravity. They were the first immortal human cells ever grown in culture, and in the half-century since her death, have continually been used for research into cancer, AIDS, the effects of radiation and toxic substances, gene mapping, and countless other scientific pursuits.
Read the review of this book here, , and interview with the author Rebecca Skloot here.
As the New York Times states:

It is “a thorny and provocative book about cancer, racism, scientific ethics and crippling poverty...It is also, from first page to last, a meditation on medical ethics — on the notion of informed consent, and on the issue of who owns human cells. When they’re in your body, it’s obvious — they’re yours. But once they’ve been removed? All bets are clearly off."

I am sure you will be tempted to read this book.

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iPad for iPricks

Having just got my iPhone a few weeks back, I am not very keen to spend some more money for an oversized version- the iPad- which will be available here starting March.
While I must confess that my iPhone has not disappointed, I would rather wait for version 2 of the iPad which will most probably come fitted with a camera, allow for multi-tasking, and support flash. However, that will not be.
My girlfriend’s birthday is in June, and she seems to be besotted by the iPad. All my attempts to convince here have failed>> > so I guess I will just have to go ahead and buy a version of the tablet that will be outdated soon.
Meanwhile, here is a hilarious column by "Charlie" Brooker in The Guardian. In case you do not know, he is a British journalist, comic writer and broadcaster, whose style of humor is savage and profane, with surreal elements and a consistent satirical pessimism.
Read the entire column here.

It's an iPhone for people who can't be arsed holding an iPhone up to their face. A slightly-further-away iPhone that keeps your lap warm. A weird combination of portable and cumbersome: too small to replace your desktop, too big to fit in your pocket, unless you're a clown. It can play video, but really – do you want to spend hours staring at a movie in your lap? Sit through Lord of the Rings and you'd need an osteopath to punch the crick out of your neck afterwards. It can also be used as an ebook, something newspapers are understandably keen to play up, but because it's got an illuminated display rather than a fancy non-backlight "digital ink" ebook screen, it'll probably leave your eyes feeling strained, as though your pupils are wearing tight shoes….

The iPad falls between two stools – not quite a laptop, not quite a smartphone. In other words, it's the spork of the electronic consumer goods world. Or rather it would be, were it not for one crucial factor: it looks ideal for idly browsing the web while watching telly….

Absurdly, Apple keeps trying to pretend it'll make your life more efficient. Come off it. It's an oblong that lights up. I'm sick of being pitched to like I'm a one-man corporation undertaking a personal productivity audit anyway…

Some people are complaining because it doesn't have a camera in it. Spoiled techno-babies, all of them. Just because something is technically possible, it doesn't mean it has to be done. It's technically possible to build an egg whisk that makes phonecalls, an MP3 player that dispenses capers or a car with a bread windscreen. Humankind will continue prosper in their absence. Not everything needs a 15-megapixel lens stuck on the back, like a little glass anus. Give these ingrates a camera and they'd whine that it didn't have a second camera built into it. What are you taking photographs of anyway? Your camera collection?

And don't bring up videocalls to defend yourself: it'd be creepy talking to a disembodied two-dimensional head being held at arm's length, and besides, the iPad is too heavy to hold in front of your face for long, so you'd end up balancing it in your lap, which means both callers would find themselves staring up one another's others nostrils, like a pair of curious dental patients. …

I just hope buying an iBook won't turn me into an iPrick. I want a machine that essentially makes itself invisible, not a rectangular bragging stone…

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Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea

With the India-Korea FTA (they call it CEPA) now in force, it has not taken long for the Indian business community to form an association, to help improve economic relations between both sides.
The Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea  has been setup and was formally launched yesterday evening. It has the full backing of the Indian embassy and the launch event was actually organized by the Indian diplomats here in Korea. Although I hope the bureucrats do not interfer too much in its actual day to day activities...too much involvement by the Indian bureaucrats in any project has never been good.. A facilitating role is more than enough!
While the launch ceremony was slightly embarassing, with too many boring speeches, I am sure the ICCK will soon stand on its own feet. I am still not sure though that there are enough Indian companies here to join the chamber! It may eventually be filled up with 'individual members' who have an interest in India-Korea relations, more to use it as networking association like many of the other national chambers, and not the 'lobbying group' like Amcham and EUCCK, which have more clout with the Korean government officials.
As far as I know, while Korean investment in India is substantial (including the heavyweights Samsung, LG, Hyundai and POSCO among others), the revere is not true. There are only two major Indian Groups which have committed some investment here- Hindalco and Tata.
Novelis Inc., a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited the flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, acquired Alcan Taihan Aluminum Limited in January 2005. Novelis Inc. holds 68% of total capital investment of US$ 600 million of Novelis Korea Limited. Novelis Korea is Asia’s number one manufacturer of aluminum rolled products with state of art production facilities in Yeongju and Ulsan and employs more than 1,200 employees. Tata Motors Limited, India, also acquired the Daewoo Commercial Vehicle (DWCV), Gunsan, Korea for a total price of KRW 120 billion (approximately US$ 102 million or Rupees 4650 million) in March 2004.
In addition, an Indian Company, M/s Creative Plastic, invested US$ 2 million in ROK and set up a 100% investment company, Alchemy Mold & Plastic Ltd. in Pyeongtaek. These are the only worthwhile investments. Hope the record improves, now that the FTA has been implemented.
A related news item:

With the full backing of the Indan Embassy opened its doors yesterday, becoming the 14th organization of its kind here and joining the ranks of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea.

“Over the past three years, trade between Korea and India increased 100 percent, and last year [trade] volume reached $15 billion,” Kim Jong-shik, chairman of the Indian chamber and chief executive of Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company, said during a gathering at a hotel in central Seoul to celebrate the opening. “Around 380 Korean companies are currently promoting business in India.

And Indian companies including the Tata Group and the Aditya Birla Group are actively and successfully investing in Korea.”

The closer ties between Korean and Indian businesses stem in part from a bilateral agreement the two signed last year to break down tariff barriers. The agreement, which encourages businesses in each country to invest more freely in the other nation, took effect this year.

“Specifically, Hyundai Motor built its plant near Chennai, and many other Korean companies continue to increase their investment in India,” Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun said at the gathering.

“On the other hand, India’s Tata Group was successful in entering Korea and has been producing commercial vehicles for the Korean market.”

The minister added that “despite such a rapid increase in bilateral trade and investment, there are still large opportunities for cooperation and further growth.”

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Interview: Mr. Lee Young-hee, Minister of Labor

In 2008, the new government of President Lee Myung-bak caused a paradigm shift in labor policy. The new paradigm aims to pursue growth and employment simultaneously by supporting economic revival and job creation to make Korea a leading advanced nation. This means pursuing economic growth and job creation at the same time by boosting market economy, developing human resources and achieving active welfare.
But now with the Korean economy facing a serious crisis, it has even more challenges. Falling exports and shrinking domestic demand are expected to lead to negative growth and the employment situation is deteriorating rapidly. There is even a possibility that the current economic crisis could become a disaster never experienced before in terms of its scale, duration and impacts. Moreover, this crisis is under way not just in Korea but also all over the world, so it cannot be easily overcome by the government's efforts alone without cooperation from other social partners.
I caught up with Mr. Lee Young-hee, Minister of Labor to give me an insight into the government plans on the labor front. Especially since the “strike season” is due to start soon.
The following are excerpts:

“With the release of the ‘Agreement between Labor, Management, Civic Groups and the Government to Overcome the Economic Crisis" on February 16th, the spirit of labor-management cooperation is spreading. Nevertheless, the possibility for labor-management conflicts remains concerning issues including corporate workforce reduction and improvement in labor laws and systems.”
The major contents of the agreement were that labor unions will restrict strikes and freeze, return or cut pay according to companies' conditions in the course of overcoming the economic crisis. The management will root out unfair labor practices, and maintain existing levels of employment.
“The government will actively support the efforts to retain and share jobs for sharing burdens by labor and management. It will expand the social safety net, and come up with protection measures for non-regular workers and the small-scale self-employed,” he said.
For the faithful implementation of the agreed matters, all sides will establish and operate an implementation checkup unit, Minister Lee added.
Speaking on the policies that the ministry will pursue this year, he noted that steps will be taken to minimize unemployment of employed workers. Voluntary labor-management cooperation for minimizing lay-off, refraining from wage increase and improving productivity, voluntary cooperation and concession by labor and management are spreading.
“The ministry will actively provide employment retention subsidies, when labor and management take job stability measures through closedown and suspension from service. For the suspension and reduction of work to be an opportunity for better productivity, we will encourage enterprises to conduct vocational training rather than simple suspension of business and lay-off,” he said.
For SMEs whose training capacities are not sufficient, support will be given through training consortium projects, etc. Support for skills development will be strengthened for vulnerable workers, including non-regular workers.
Intensive employment assistance through vocational counseling for people who face difficulty in landing a job, the MOL will establish individual action plan (IAP) for employment support and provide intensive services.
The MOL will also expand training projects for the unemployed and offer loans for living expenses during training period. Support for job transfer will be activated through joint re-employment support center for labor and management.
“We will also expand the scale of programs. More than 50% of all social service jobs will be allocated to vulnerable groups, including low-income unemployed people, with the aim of responding to the crisis.”
The ministry will activate the system of paying allowances to workers whose employment is maintained or extended under a wage peak system. The government subsidies for hiring the disabled will be expanded and skills development of the unemployed disabled will be strengthened according to the type of disability.
Centering on the five sectors of auto, public, finance, health and construction, the ministry will operate the ‘Industrial Relations Task Force in Vulnerable Industries’ with the aim of supporting dispute resolution.
“We will select and intensively manage core establishments with big implications and establishments vulnerable to labor disputes. We will continue to enhance policy predictability by maintaining its policy direction towards laws and principles. At the same time, it will help labor and management to resolve conflicts on their own.”
In terms of illegal actions, the ministry will take a strict action no matter whether it be labor or management. Correction guidance will be provided for illegal actions, including unfair labor practices, occupancy of production facilities and political strikes. At each regional labor office, a ‘Team for Preventing Illegal Actions’ will be run with the aim of guiding the compliance with laws.
Concerning the permission of multiple trade unions, Minister Lee said that the MOL will improve the bargaining system and wage payment to full-time union officials. Through discussions at the tripartite commission, efforts will be made to reach an agreement during the first half of this year. Based on discussions, the MOL will pursue measures to submit a legislative bill, prepare subordinate laws and lay the foundation for administrative support.

For those who are interested, the full interview can be read here.

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