1. Government focuses on securing funding and establishing policies for income-led growth
President Moon Jae-in gave a speech at the National Assembly in which he stated that the government will focus in 2018 on promoting job-creation policies and asked the National Assembly to pass the related budget bills as soon as possible. In the 2018 budget of KRW 429 trillion (USD 395 billion), the government will support job creation in the private sector and increase jobs in public and social services as it seeks income-led growth.
Of particular note is that President Moon mentioned that actions on youth employment and expansion of childcare leave were pledges of the presidential candidates from the parties that were the opposition leading up to the last presidential election, and stated that he expected the National Assembly would also work together to pass the budget bills related to those promises as well.
< Details of the 2018 Budget Bills on Job Creation >
| 1. Job creation in the private sector
ㆍ Cover 100% of wages one out of every three new young worker hired by an promising SME in the emerging sector as a regular worker (max. of KRW 20 million or USD 18,458 per year for three years) ㆍ Expand the target (50,000 → 60,000 young workers) and maximum limit (KRW 12 million or USD 11,075 → KRW 16 million or USD 14,766 for two years) of ‘Youth Tomorrow’ deposit account for young workers in SMEs 2. Expansion of jobs in the public sector ㆍ Create 12,000 jobs in social services (childcare and medical care), hire 15,000 additional civil servants for the central government ㆍ Regularize non-regular workers in the public sector, correct discriminatory treatment in terms of welfare benefits 3. Improvement of job quality ㆍ Support babysitting allowances as the minimum wage for next year increased by 16.4% ㆍ Benefits of childcare leave to be doubled for the first three months, increase subsidy for reduced working hours during childcare period (max. of 80% of ordinary wage [currently 60% of ordinary wage]) 4. Korean model of stable and flexible employment ㆍ Expand unemployment benefits (KRW 5.3 trillion or USD 4.8 billion → KRW 6.2 trillion or USD 5.7 billion), pay monthly jobseeker benefits of KRW 300,000 or USD 276 for 3 months |
2. Government focuses on improving the administration of employment & labor and preparing strategies to eliminate sexual harassment on the job
On 14 November, the Ministry of Employment & Labor (MOEL) and the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family (MOGEF) jointly announced ‘Measures to Eliminate Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment on the Job’ as sexual harassment at work has become a recent social issue. The MOEL plans to strengthen labor inspection regarding sexual harassment and intensify punishment for law-breaking workplaces.
< MOEL Measures on Eliminating Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment on the Job >
| Details | |
| Strengthen inspection and supervision | ㆍ Check employer measures against sexual harassment on the job during all types of labor inspections targeting 20,000 workplaces each year
ㆍ Strengthen punishment (increase fines for negligence based on the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act, and change penalty provisions for negligence from fines to imprisonment or punitive monetary penalties) when sexual harassment occurs on the job |
| Strengthen prevention and responding mechanism | ㆍ Recommend posting of preventive educational materials on company bulletin boards regarding sexual harassment on the job, install cyber reporting centers at workplaces
ㆍ Promote prevention of and follow-up for sexual harassment on the job as major responsibilities for labor – management council based on the Act on the Promotion of Workers’ Participation and Cooperation |
| Raise public awareness | ㆍ Distribute self-diagnosing applications and preventive news cards regarding sexual harassment on the job |