[EXPLAINER] How Korea's little-used power to freeze legal strike works

“As Samsung Electronics braces for a potentially historic strike later this week, the government’s rarely used “emergency adjustment” power has resurfaced as a viable option. Officials are publicly warning that if a walkout at the chip giant disrupts production and exports, they may enact a measure that can forcibly halt a legal strike and push the dispute into state-led arbitration. This emergency power is outlined in Article 76 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, which allows the labor minister to intervene when a dispute is deemed to pose a significant risk to the national economy or to people’s daily lives. This is regarded as a last resort because it forcibly suspends an otherwise lawful strike and can expose workers and unions to legal risks. Once the minister invokes the measure, unions must immediately halt any ongoing strike and are barred from staging industrial action for up to 30 days. If they defy the order and continue walkouts, the action can be treated as an illegal strike, exposing union leaders and other members to possible criminal penalties

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