JEAIL > Volume 18(2); 2025 > Issue Focus
Research Paper
Published online: November 30, 2025
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2025.18.2.02

The EU-Korea Labor Dispute’s Outcome: An Appraisal under the ILO Conventions and the EU’s Trade and Sustainable Development Chapter

Thi Trang Ngo
Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV)
69 Chua Lang, Lang, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Corresponding Author: trangnt@dav.edu.vn

ⓒ Copyright YIJUN Institute of International Law
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/liceInha University Law School, 100 Inharo, Michuhol-gu, Incheon 22212 Korea. / nses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract
The European Union (EU) has pursued reforms to strengthen the effectiveness of Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapters in its free trade agreements (FTAs) since 2017. The labor dispute with Korea under the EU–Korea FTA served as a test case for this objective. The Panel of Experts held that Korea violated its obligations regarding freedom of association while satisfied with the obligation to ratify ILO core conventions. This article appraises the dispute’s outcome to assess the extent of the EU’s success in advancing labor rights through trade instruments and the implications for its ongoing TSD reform. It argues that the case reflects the EU’s strategic use of TSD provisions to promote labor standards and recalibrate its enforcement approach. However, given the evolving direction of TSD reforms and the design of recent FTAs, the recurrence of a similar labor-related dispute appears unlikely in the near future.

Keywords : EU’s FTA, Trade and Sustainable Development, Labor Provisions, EU-Korea Labor Dispute

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