Living Information

DALTON TANONAKA,CNN Ahchor : More union members are returning to work in South Korea after deals were cut on the third day of a national strike. Pilots at the country's biggest air carrier, Korean Air, are gearing up to resume full flight schedules after two days off their seats. Workers at eleven hospitals reached agreements, with more expected. Joining us now with thoughts on the economic impact of the strike is Ke-on Lee; he's deputy head of Asia economics at JP Morgan in Hong Kong.

TANONAKA: Was the, is the strike in itself effective, do you think, this week?

KE-ON LEE: No, the one thing they lacked which is critical to the success of a strike is public support. And in this case, they really lacked that.

TANONAKA: Why is that?

LEE: The economy is in such a sad situation that, you know, that the public at the moment is not supporting further disruptions to the economy.

TANONAKA: So timing was bad. But let me ask you this. Has the role of the labor union in South Korea diminished?

LEE: Probably worse, more so than before, but of course it is critical. It's still a critical element to the future of Korean economy. Because you still need to undergo a lot of corporate and bank restructuring in the next few years to put Korea back on a sound footpath. And for that you definitely need the cooperation of the unions to make that work.