1. Discussion on the revision of employment and labor bills, such as the reduction of working hours, are expected during the regular session of the National Assembly (from 1 September to December 9)
On 14 September, the Environment and Labor Committee of the National Assembly held a general meeting and submitted 220 revision bills (131 employment and labor bills, 89 environment bills) to the Subcommittee for Legislative Review. Additional pending employment and labor bills include the stipulation of the definition of the ordinary wage (Labor Standards Act), the expansion of maternity and paternity leave (Labor Standards Act and Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act), and the restriction on compensation for damages during strikes (Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act).
Meanwhile, chairperson Young-pyo Hong of the Environment and Labor Committee held a general meeting to choose witnesses for parliamentary inspection next week. He will decide extra witnesses at a later time.
< Major Labor Bills in the Environment and Labor Committee in the National Assembly >
| Laws | Proposers | Details |
| Labor Standards Act | Yong-deuk Lee
(Minjoo Party) |
ㆍStipulate the definition of ordinary wage provision (ordinary wage is money and
valuables given to workers regularly and uniformly, regardless of how it is termed) ㆍList items in laws that are excluded (such as a bonus for a national holiday) from the scope of ordinary wages |
| Labor Standards Act | Chan-yeol Lee
(People’s Party) |
ㆍExpand maternity leave (from 90 days to 120 days) |
| Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act | Sang-jung Shim
(Justice Party) |
ㆍExpand paternity leave, which is currently 5 days (3 days paid) → 30 days paid |
| Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act | Byung-won Kang
(Minjoo Party) |
ㆍProhibit employers’ claim for damage compensation regarding union activities (especially individual union member’s labor activities), with certain exceptions |
Chairperson Young-pyo Hong also mentioned in a press interview on 13 September that he would make an effort to draw an agreement between the ruling party and opposition parties on the issue of working hours reduction within the regular session of the National Assembly. Chairperson Hong had said in the Korea Tripartite Forum on 11 September that there is no choice but to discard an administrative interpretation on working hours from 1 January in 2018 if the passage of the revised bills of the Labor Standards Act regarding reduction of working hours fails in the regular session of the National Assembly.