The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) reclaimed its status as South Korea's largest umbrella union in 2020, outpacing its rival organization in terms of membership size, a government report showed Thursday.

According to the labor ministry's latest report on workplace unionization, the number of union members registered under FKTU was recorded at 1.15 million, or 41.1 percent of the total 2.8 million unionized workers in the country as of 2020.

The more militant Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), which had been the largest organization since 2018, fell to second place, with 1.13 million members, or 40.4 percent of the national total.

Unionized workers unaffiliated with umbrella organizations were tallied at 417,000.

FKTU's membership increase was attributed to growth of affiliated public sector unions and those under Samsung Group.

The rate of unionization among wage workers stood at 14.2 percent in 2020, up from 11.8 percent and 12.5 percent in 2018 and 2019, respectively, the government added. (Yonhap)