The labor union at Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) said it has begun industrial action procedures, including a general strike, in protest against the government's push to split the state-run developer.
The union said it took part in a news conference held on the 17th in front of the fountain at Sarangchae, near the former presidential compound, where a joint committee of public-sector unions from South Korea's two umbrella labor federations declared a campaign against the government. The union condemned the government's drive to overhaul the functions of state-run institutions and its plan to force a breakup of LH. "Some 8,000 members have already entered industrial action procedures, including a general strike," the union said.
The union warned it would escalate its campaign if the government presses ahead with the split. "If the government ultimately forces through a unilateral and hastily drafted separation plan, we will join with 550,000 public-sector workers in the joint committee of the two federations to wage an all-out campaign against the government's unilateral course," the union said.
Jang Hyo-soo, co-chair of the committee, said in remarks as a site representative that the government's plan for reforming state-run institutions, announced on Sept. 3, contained "neither communication with workers on the ground nor respect for the foundations on which policy is carried out." Jang added, "Over the past five years, we have already experienced first-hand the devastating results of unilateral reform."
The union cited housing supply results and staffing figures as grounds for its opposition. According to data released by the union, LH's achievement rate against its housing supply targets stood at 100.5% in 2017, 107.7% in 2019 and 98.0% in 2020, before falling to 38.3% in 2021, 44.1% in 2022 and 50.9% in 2023. The rate recovered to 100.0% in 2024 and stood at 84.3% in 2025. The combined number of employees on leave or who resigned rose from 378 in 2017 to 908 in 2021, then reached 1,012 in 2024 and 1,027 in 2025.
The union also pointed to a gap between workload and staffing conditions. Annual supply volume has risen from 60,000 homes to 110,000 homes and annual project spending from 20 trillion won to 60 trillion won, while the government cut LH's authorized headcount by 1,220 positions — including 226 senior posts at grade 2 or above — under a 2021 restructuring plan, according to the union.
"If you want to bake and sell bread tomorrow, you have to buy flour today, even if it means borrowing," Jang said. "The government is demanding the largest supply volume in history, delivered faster and at better quality, while telling us to cut the money for flour, reducing our staff, designating us as a financially risky institution and forcing us to manage our debt ratio at 200%."
Jang rejected arguments for a breakup based on LH's debt of 174 trillion won. "LH's 174 trillion won in debt is by no means debt created by poor management," he said. "Under a structure in which building a single rental home generates roughly 100 million won in debt, it is 'national policy debt' that has accumulated each time successive governments announced supply plans of 1 million or 2 million homes."
The union presented three demands to the government: restoring the staffing levels cut under the restructuring plan of the past five years, forming a labor-government consultative body to verify whether splitting LH would guarantee supply and resolve the debt, and codifying the government's responsibility for the results of policy implementation.
