1996–1997 strikes in South Korea

[3] On December 28, South Korean riot police used methods such as tear gas against the strikers in order to dispel crowds.

[5] In December 1996 and January 1997, there was a massive four-week nationwide strike in South Korea in protest against newly passed labor laws which gave employers more power to lay off employees, made it easier to hire temporary/strike replacing workers and put off allowing multiple unions to be formed at a given enterprise.

[5] From 1985 to 1996, South Korea experienced a series of strikes that resulted in a clash of old laws and governmental frameworks that were incompatible with modern working practices.

Then on December 26 in the wee hours of the morning four busses filled with NKP members arrived at the capital and in the course of twenty minutes eleven bills were passed.

None of the other parties were aware of this vote and the outrage that resulted from these dishonest political maneuvers were major contributors to the strikes and labor disturbances that followed hours later.

[11] On January 16, riot police fired tear gas at thousands of workers marching toward Myongdong Cathedral.

[10] On January 20, the president agreed to meet opposition leaders to try to resolve unrest as tens of thousands of union members returned to work.

Hundreds of students battled police with firebombs, rocks and tear gas after a union leader urged an end to violence.

[12] Actions undertaken by President Kim and his government eventually proved to undermine him, as it turned both international and domestic favor against him.

The government threatened union leaders with the National Security Law – if they were found guilty of working with the socialist North, they would be subject to heavy penalties with very little proof of their guilt.

The government defended the proposed laws as necessary to boost South Korea's worsening ability to compete internationally and to combat slackening exports, a rising trade deficit, and declining growth.

In the first three weeks of the strikes, 200,000 workers in 176 firms cost the economy an estimated $2.3 billion, primarily in the auto, machinery, and shipbuilding industries, according to the government.

[13] Due to the increased international and domestic pressure, President Kim suffered a major dip in approval ratings down to 13.9% from the already low 27.4% it had been only two months previously.

This led President Kim to invite religious and civic leaders to the capital on January 21 on the grounds that he was willing to change the law.

Then on January 28, the KCTU suddenly canceled all protests, stating that they would return to striking if amendments were not made to the labor bill.

Compounding the problem, many workers and unions did not want to go back on strike because they had already suffered lost wages and could not afford to continue.

This only lasted until December 2, 1997, when the South Korean government was forced to ask the International Monetary Fund for $57 billion due to a series of foreign exchange and financial crises.

This forced South Korea to adopt more western labor policies in order to remain competitive with foreign companies and because of an International Monetary Fund–led structural adjustment plan.