Amendments to Major Labor Laws

Act on Protection, etc. of Fixed Term and Part-Time Employees

• If discrimination is found against non-regular workers, the Labor Minister shall issue a corrective order through the National Labor Relations Commission

• The application period for the corrective order of discrimination shall be extended from 3 months to 6 months from the date of the discrimination

Act on the Protection, etc., of Dispatched Workers

• In case of illegal dispatch, the user employer is obligated to hire the dispatched worker directly

Labor Standards Act

•In cases where multiple subcontracts exist, the range of responsibility for delayed payment of wages is extended to all contractors

Minimum Wage Act

• The provision regarding lower wages for apprentices in their apprenticeship for less than 1 year no longer applies

• If a contractor fails to take joint responsibility with the subcontractor for paying less than minimum wage, the contractor shall be penalized with imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or a fine not exceeding ₩20 million

Act on the Collection, etc., of Premiums for Employment Insurance & Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance

• The Acts provide the legal ground for the government to subsidize insurance premiums for workers in small workplaces

• This provision will also exempt the additional charges or overdue insurance premiums in the past

Framework Act on Labor Welfare

• If a business which has set up an employee welfare fund uses funds for its in-house subcontract and dispatch workers, the fund’s expenditure limit will be raised beyond the level prescribed in the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Labor Welfare

Labor Standards Act

• List of employers with overdue wages shall be shown to the public, and personal information of these employers will be provided to the Credit Information Collection Agency

• Waiting time for workers under supervision shall be considered working hours

• Employers shall grant one day of paid leave per month even to workers with a work attendance rate of less than 80 percent over one year

• The timeframe for enforcing 『Promotion of the Use of Annual Paid Leave』 shall be changed from “3 months before unused leave is to be forfeited” to “6 months before leave is to be forfeited”.

• Pre- and post-natal leave can be used after miscarriages and stillbirths

Wage Claim Guarantee Act

• If an employer cannot pay wages to retiring employees due to temporary financial hardship, the employer is able to request a loan for unpaid wages

Social Enterprise Promotion Act

• ‘Limited partnerships’ to be added to types of social enterprises. When the head of a public institution draws up a purchase plan according to Article 5 (1) of the “Act on Encouragement to Support SME Sales by Purchasing Their Products”, he/she shall include a separate plan on the purchase of the goods and services produced by social enterprises and inform the Minister of Employment and Labor

Act on Foreign Workers’ Employment, Etc.

• When a foreign worker leaves Korea, there has been a 1-month waiting period required before they can re-enter the country for employment. This has been extended to 3 months

Workers’ Vocational Skills Development Act

• Criteria relaxed for certified vocational training centers, and shall be managed by a Presidential decree, not an executive order of Ministry of Employment and Labor

Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation

• Paternity leave shall be a minimum of 3 days to a maximum of 5 days, 3 of which shall be paid

• If a worker needs to take care of a family member due to illness, accident, old age, etc., he/she can take up to 90 days’ leave per year, which can be divided up