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. 

“When foreign investors consider entering the Korean market, their concern is Korea’s labor law and issues surrounding it, as it is very different from other countries’,” Lee Kwang-sun, one of the book’s coauthors, told The Korea Herald. 

“It is like a textbook that can provide a clear and detailed guidance to foreign corporations.”

Though the word-by-word translation of the labor law has been available through the Ministry of Government Legislation, there was no book that attempted to provide the whole picture of the labor situation in Korea by including various cases and theories, the lawyer said.

The book, which hit domestic bookstores on June 10, will also be published electronically and sold on such e-book websites as Ridibooks and Amazon starting between late July and early August.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)