Federation of Korean Maritime Unions
FKMU · Founded 1961 · Seoul, South Korea · South Korea
- Membership scope
- ~35,000 Korean seafarers + shipbuilders + port workers across 30+ affiliated unions.
- Key CBA framework
- FKMU-Korean shipowners association framework; specific enterprise-level agreements
- Website
- www.fkmu.or.kr
What this union does
The Federation of Korean Maritime Unions (FKMU) is the umbrella body coordinating Korea's maritime + shipbuilding trade unions. Founded 1961 under authoritarian-era Korean state supervision, FKMU has since evolved into a genuine industrial-relations advocacy body coordinating ~35,000 Korean seafarers + shipbuilders + port workers. Given Korea's outsized role in world shipbuilding (HHI, Samsung Heavy, Hanwha Ocean — collectively ~35-40% of global shipbuilding output) + tanker/container/LNG operations, FKMU has significant international-shipping-policy influence. The federation coordinates closely with Korean government maritime policy + advocates for Korean-flag fleet retention against the historical drift toward Panamanian/Marshallese re-registration. Also active in Korean shipbuilding-industry labour-relations coordination.
Contact route
https://www.fkmu.or.kr/eng — Seoul headquarters.