Seoul is considering using a rarely used emergency power to halt a strike that could cost the economy US$67 billion
The government’s response so far has been a calibrated escalation of pressure. Labour Minister Kim Young-hoon has shuttled between both parties in a bid to resuscitate government-mediated talks that collapsed last week.
South Korean labour law grants the government the ability to immediately suspend industrial action for 30 days by invoking emergency arbitration, triggering a compulsory mediation process before the National Labour Relations Commission.
