The free trade deal between the European Union and South Korea,.. now in its eighth year,... requires both parties to implement sustainable development commitments, including the improvement of labor rights. <br />Yet, the EU is demanding an official consultation with Seoul, saying it hasn't exerted sufficient efforts to ratify the conventions of the UN agency on labor. <br />Kim Hyo-sun reports. <br />The European Union is urging the South Korean government to ratify the International Labor Organization, or ILO, conventions. <br />The statement released by the European Commission on Monday asks Seoul to engage in formal consultations with the EU on labor issues. <br />It explained that the two parties pledged to improve labor rights and working conditions under a dispute settlement mechanism in the Trade and Sustainable Development chapter in their FTA concluded in 2011. <br />However, it stated that efforts exerted by Seoul so far are insufficient. <br />South Korea joined the ILO in 1991, but has only ratified 29 conventions out of a total of 189, which include abolition of forced labor and freedom of association and protection of the right to organize and the right to collective bargaining.<br />The EU's FTA with Seoul was its first agreement that included the TSD chapter,... but the clause is now contained in its FTAs with Canada, Singapore and Japan. <br />It marks the first time Brussels has demanded government-to-government consultations on the issue.<br />Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News. <br />
