South Korean law firm JIPYONG has published an English commentary on the nation’s labor law, titled “Labor Laws of the Republic of Korea,” to help foreign firms better grasp Korea’s complex labor issues.　Written by a former Supreme Court Justice Kim Ji-hyung and his fellow attorneys at JIPYONG, the 528-page book provides an explanation of Korea’s Labor Standards Acts, as well as the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act. (JIPYONG)“When foreign investors consider entering the Korean mark

Social Affairs July 2, 2015

Nearly half of South Korea’s major companies and their affiliates have introduced the controversial “peak wage” system that places a wage ceiling on senior employees, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Wednesday.　According to a poll by the ministry, 177 companies or 47 percent of the 378 surveyed private and state-run affiliates from the nation’s top 30 conglomerates by total assets have implemented the peak wage system, with most of them planning to further broaden it in phases. 　(Yonhap

Social Affairs July 1, 2015

The Ministry of Employment and Labor was embroiled in controversy this week after it published a blog post describing a “preferable appearance” in getting jobs, stoking criticism that it encouraged plastic surgery among job seekers. 　The post, titled “Plastic surgery became one of the seven prerequisites to gaining employment,” was written by the ministry’s intern reporter and uploaded Tuesday to its official blog. The Employment and Labor Ministry’s Twitter page shows a posting that reads, “Is

Social Affairs July 1, 2015

Negotiations among employees, employers and labor experts to set the minimum wage for next year collapsed without agreement Monday, failing to meet a legal deadline. 　A final meeting of the Minimum Wage Council ended in deadlock, with the business representatives absent to signify opposition to labor experts’ suggestion to stipulate monthly wages in the employment contract. 　 (Yonhap)Currently, only hourly wages are written in the contract, which labor experts and laborers in the council view as

Social Affairs June 30, 2015

Two out of 5 employees of large businesses are irregular workers, according to a government survey which highlighted the level of job insecurity in Korea. According to the data on types of employment in 3,233 companies, nearly 39 percent of 4.6 million Korean workers at large companies were hired temporarily by the companies or outsourced recruitment firms.Of the total number of workers, 918,000 laborers, or 20 percent, were hired by outsourced firms and dispatched to conglomerates, mostly in th

Social Affairs June 30, 2015

More than half of part-time workers in Korea enter the workforce without signing a contract, a poll found Monday. 　A part-time job portal Alba Cheonguk conducted a survey on 1,437 part-timers from May 12-19 to find out whether employers offered working environments in accordance with the Labor Standards Act. 　 A trade union for part-timers hold a placard reading "Part-timers are also laborers." (Yonhap)Korean labor law requires all employers, regardless of their size, to distribute a contract to

National June 29, 2015

While the historic ruling in favor of same-sex marriage swept the U.S. and the world over the weekend, Seoul hosted its own version of a pride parade Sunday, despite vocal opposition from antigay groups.Seoul Plaza, a traditional rallying point for Korean activists, turned into a rainbow-studded space awash with scores of local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender revelers and their supporters, who gathered to march through central Seoul in the evening under the slogan of “Queer Revolution.” 　

Social Affairs June 28, 2015

(Yonhap)The prosecution decided on Friday not to file charges against Korean biotech firm Natural Endotech whose health products were found to include a banned substance. Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office concluded that the firm did not intentionally use the illegal herb to make its products. However, prosecutors confirmed that Natural Endotech did not have a sufficient inspection system to prevent the toxic ingredient ― Cynanchum auriculatum Royal ― from being blended in its products.The decis

Social Affairs June 26, 2015

Kim Ok-joo, 46, who works at a tollgate on a highway just outside Seoul for more than eight hours nearly every day of the week, cannot help but think her drudgery does not really pay off. “It takes only two weeks to use up all my monthly wage,” said Kim, a single mother raising two teenage sons. “I often work for 16 hours a day, and even on weekends, but my wage is never enough to feed my children.” This year, Kim received 1.6 million won ($1,400) per month as her wage was 6,000 won per hour, 12

Social Affairs June 25, 2015

South Korea’s highest court on Thursday upheld a ruling that illegal immigrants in Korea can establish a labor union. 　The Supreme Court legalized the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants’ Trade Union, invalidating the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s ban on its establishment. Members of civic groups hold a press conference to criticize the government for oppressing foreign workers’ human rights and reforming immigration law in front of the government complex in central Seoul on Jan. 4, 2008. (Yonh

Social Affairs June 25, 2015

South Korea's outbreak of the deadly MERS virus is "large and complex" and more cases should be expected, a team of World Health Organization (WHO) experts said Saturday. WHO and South Korean health authorities have conducted a joint mission to review the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the largest outside Saudi Arabia.Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's assistant director-general of health security, and Lee Jong-koo, head of the Center for Global Medicine, at Seoul National University,

Social Affairs June 13, 2015