1. The MOEL adjusted the direction of its employment & labor policy and focused on establishing a law-abiding order in industrial sites
Young-ju Kim, Minister of Employment and Labor (MOEL), held a meeting on 25 September with heads of public institutions and officially declared the abolishment of the government’s two major guidelines on fair personnel management and rules of employment. Minister Young-ju Kim said the two major guidelines were prepared without social consensus. Regarding the guidelines on rules of employment, Kim ordered to immediately abolish the guidelines on fair personnel management and replace the current guidelines with the latest ones from 2009.
Through the abolishment of two major guidelines and by giving a notice to actively carry out field inspections in workplaces with suspicion of unfair labor practices, Kim expects to restore social dialogue for a society where labor is respected. The minister emphasized the importance of strengthening the administration of employment & labor and strengthening efforts to reform the MOEL itself.
2. The Minimum Wage Commission began to discuss ways to improve the minimum wage determination system
On September 27, the Minimum Wage Commission launched a review process through the 1st Professional Taskforce. The process reviewed six research projects that labor and management submitted, including plans to improve the scope of minimum wage calculation. The Minimum Wage Commission has plans to proceed with basic research such as collecting oversea cases, conducting fact-finding surveys, and analyzing basic statistics regarding minimum wage.
< Research Projects Related to Improving the Minimum Wage System >
| Six Research Projects | |
| Management | ㆍPlans to improve the scope of minimum wage calculation |
| ㆍPlans to differentiate application by region and industry | |
| ㆍReorganization of the structure and composition of determining minimum wage | |
| Labor | ㆍMethods to reflect and calculate household expenditures |
| ㆍInfluences of minimum wage increase on improving income distribution and relieving low wages | |
| ㆍImprovement of the compliance rate of minimum wage |
The Minimum Wage Commission plans to finish the discussion on systems improvement within this year, but difficulties are expected due to differing opinions between labor and management on how to improve the system.