Hundreds of thousands of unionized workers voted to go on strike Thursday to protest what they called the government's efforts to restructure the labor market in a management-friendly way.
  

A total of 442,547 of 772,158 union members took part in the vote, with 397,453 of them endorsing the strike, the Korean Federation of Trade Unions, an umbrella union, said in a news release.
  

It marks the first time since 1997 that the KFTU has decided to go on strike. The exact date of the planned walkout has yet to be determined.
  

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions, another umbrella union, said it will hold its second strike on July 15, following the first one on April 24, against the government's plans to reform the pension system for public servants.
  

The Park Geun-hye government's drive for a more flexible labor market and revision of the pension system for government employees have been resisted by unionized workers. (Yonhap)