Labor Union to Set up Think Tank

By Kim Hong-su (hongsu@chosun.com), The Chosun Ilbo, 11 November 2002

A leading financial industry union is set to launch its own think tank, the first research unit ever for union members in the country.

Korea Financial Industry Union (KFIU) announced Monday that it will set up its own research institute this year to explore policies that speak for the interest of workers.

The union explained that the chief of the research unit has already been nominated, adding that two or three university professors would also be invited to work for the unit as non-permanent research staff.

An official of the union explained that the plan is to counter measures by the nation’s chaebol to come up with various policy proposals through their own research organizations.

The KFIU has 31 unions of banks, credit card firms and other concerned organizations, with about 80,000 members. The same official said that the union would proceed with measures to raise the required budget for the unit, estimated at W500 million a year.