A a hardline figure has been elected to head South Korea's militant labor umbrella organization.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU) said on Thursday that Yang Kyeong-su, head of the KCTU chapter in Gyeonggi Province, was elected the new leader, after securing 55-point-seven percent of ballots cast in the vote to selection the union's new leadership. Yang's three-year term begins next month.

The 44-year-old was a chapter leader for the subcontractors of the Kia Motors plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, and he will be the first KCTU chairman to have worked as a nonregular worker.

Backed by the leading faction of the group, Yang said during the campaign that he would start preparing for a nationwide general strike on November 3 next year if he wins the election.

The KCTU strongly protests the government's revision of labor bills, such as the extension of the validity period of collective agreements.

The group is also demanding an enactment of a bill that would hold companies accountable for serious industrial disasters.