South Korea's soccer World Cup organisers said today they were unfazed by a strike threat by an umbrella union group in support of a protracted power walkout.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the country's number two labour group with 600,000 members in all major sectors, has threatened a sympathy strike from Tuesday unless the government restarts talks with unionised power workers.
Thousands of workers at state-run power monopoly Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) have been on strike since February 25th in protest against privatisation, a key policy aim for South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in an election year.
"We believe all parties involved in the labour dispute are well aware of the importance of hosting the World Cup finals successfully," Lin Byung-taik, chief spokesman for the South Korean organising committee (KOWOC), told Reuters.
"But the only thing we can do is hope the government handles the current situation smoothly," Lin said.
Last week, the country's soccer chief said he expected a strike by power workers to be over well before the World Cup finals, which will be co-hosted with Japan from May 31st to June 30th.
Chung Mong-joon, who heads the South Korean Football Association and co-chairs the World Cup organising committee, told Reuters the strikers were likely to put the interests of the country first. There have been no power cuts so far.
More than 100,000 workers in key sectors, including automobile and shipbuilding, as well as teachers and taxi drivers, are set to stage a walkout or hold rallies from Tuesday to protest against the government's plan to privatise KEPCO.
Airline workers have yet to decide whether to join in.
On Monday, Commerce Minister Shin Kook-hwan reiterated the government would not negotiate until the union accepts plans to privatise the utilities sector.