South Korean Unions Disagree on Extending Strike

SEOUL —  Waving banners and shouting curses, tens of thousands of striking workers from two rival unions marched separately through South Korean cities Tuesday.

Despite their show of bravado, the two labor groups remained divided over whether to press ahead with a large-scale strike, launched in protest of a new labor law that workers say threatens their jobs.

The union leading the three-week action had hoped the larger, government-sanctioned Federation of Korean Trade Unions would lend its full support by agreeing to join an extended nationwide strike.

But after meeting with his counterpart, the head of the federation said his group would not extend its participation beyond a scheduled two-day protest that began Tuesday.

The two leaders instead issued a vague promise to work together for the common goal of abolishing the labor law, which gives businesses greater freedom to fire employees and adjust their work hours.

Early Tuesday, the federation claimed that 420,000 of its 1.2 million members had joined about 200,000 other workers already on strike. The government Labor Ministry, however, estimated that only about 50,000 federation members walked out. Banks stayed open, most manufacturing companies were unscathed, and, apart from striking taxi drivers, public transport ran smoothly. Major ports also continued to operate.