More than 20 pro-labor candidates are expected to be elected on Wednesday, worrying South Korea’s business circles, which fear the lawmakers would push for more restrictive legislation.

Koreans will elect 300 lawmakers, 246 directly from precincts and 54 through proportional representation, and the number of lawmakers sympathetic with the labor movement is expected to rise to at least 20, up from 15 in previous elections.

The local business sectors are expressing mixed expectations. On the one hand, lawmakers familiar with labor issues will help address deepening social polarization. On the other, conglomerates remain antsy about whether the larger group of pro-labor lawmakers could propose regulation-heavy legislation that could potentially undermine corporate competitiveness.

Thirty pro-labor candidates are competing in precincts, while 14 candidates are registered for proportional representation.

The ruling Saenuri Party has only two candidates with pro-labor credentials. Kim Sung-tae, who is competing in the Gangseo district in Seoul, served as a secretary general for the Federation of Korean Trade Unions. Another candidate is Choi Bong-hong, who served as a chief for the KFTU’s transportation division. Choi aims to get elected through the proportional representation.

The rest of the pro-labor activist-turned lawmaker candidates come from the main opposition Democratic United Party and far-left United Progressive Party.

From the DUP, Kim Gyeong-hyeop (Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province), Kim Dong-cheol (Yeongdeungpo, Seoul), Eo Gi-gu (Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province), among others, are classified as pro-labor candidates as they worked at the KFTU.

Noh Woong-rae, who worked at the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, is competing in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the DUP ticket, while a dozen candidates from the opposition party are scrambling to win the elections, taking advantage of their labor-centered background.

As for the UPP, well-known figures such as Roh Hoe-chan (Nowon-gu, Seoul) and Sim Sang-jeong (Deokyang, Gyeonggi Province) are racing ahead as candidates with labor-related resumes.

Although it remains to be seen how many pro-labor activists will eventually make it to the National Assembly this time, a general consensus is that the number could reach at least 20, which will certainly put more weight behind any legislation aimed at strengthening the position of workers.

What Korean conglomerates worry in particular is that such labor activists-turned-lawmakers would propose bills that would put more regulations on the way they do business with their smaller contractors and hire temporary workers.

That policy line is not limited to the opposition camp. Candidates from the governing Saenuri Party are also openly expressing views that favor the low-income workers and labor unions over conglomerates to win votes and swing the public opinion in their favor, as the country is set to elect a new president at the end of this year following the crucial parliamentary elections.

If the UPP wins more than 20 seats, it might be allowed to appoint the head of a labor committee at the Parliament and steer legislations in favor of laborers, a scenario that is drawing concerns from the business circles.

By Yang Sung-jin (insight@heraldcorp.com)