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: (Yonhap) -- Unionized civil servants of the Environment Ministry on Wednesday voted to sever ties with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the more militant of the country's two umbrella labor organizations, officials said.
In a vote joined by 821, or 86.1 percent, of the ministry's 953 unionized employees, a total of 684, or 83.3 percent, voted in favor of their union's withdrawal from the KCTU, known for its left-leaning, anti-government struggles, as well as from a consolidated public employees union.
The vote came after three separate unions representing government workers voted in late September to merge into a single entity and to join the KCTU, which is allied with the minor opposition Democratic Labor Party.
The government immediately issued stern warnings against the controversial move, saying that unionized public workers would get involved in political activities, from which they are prohibited by law, after joining the KCTU.
The environment ministry's union became the first among the central government's organizations to decide to quit the KCTU and the unified government employees union, raising speculation that other ministries' labor unions may follow suit.
In a related move, about 3,300 unionized civil servants working for the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and affiliated agencies are also planning to vote later this week on whether to leave the KCTU.
"Complying with the will of union members, we plan to maintain political neutrality and work harder to promote their welfare and benefits," said a ranking official of the Environment Ministry's labor union.
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