1.

Minimum Hourly Wage for 2026: KRW 10,320 (The Minimum Wage Act / Effective as of January 1, 2026)
 

• The minimum hourly wage for 2026 will be KRW 10,320, which is an increase by KRW 290 (approximately 2.9%) compared to the 2025 rate of KRW 10,030.

• The total amount of regular bonuses and cash welfare benefits will be fully included in the calculation of minimum wage.
   

2.

Amendment to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act (the “TULRAA”), commonly known as the “Yellow Envelope Act” (Effective as of March 10, 2026)

The Yellow Envelope Act will become effective on March 10, 2026. The key aspects of the amendment are as follows.
 

(1)

Expansion of the Scope of an “Employer” (Article 2, Subparagraph 2)

This Amendment recognizes an entity as an “employer” under the TULRAA if it has substantial and specific control over working conditions, even if it is not the direct employer under an employment contract.
Accordingly, if a contracting entity substantially and specifically controls or determines the working conditions of a subcontractor’s employees, it may be deemed an employer and be obligated to engage in collective bargaining with the subcontractor’s union.
 

(2)

Expansion of the Scope of “Union Membership” (Article 2, Subparagraph 4)

Currently, the TULRAA stipulates that an organization is not considered a trade union if it allows non-employees to join. This Amendment deletes this provision, thereby ensuring the right to organize for various types of workers, including special employment workers and platform workers, and aligning with recommendations from international organizations such as the ILO.
 

(3)

Expansion of the Scope of an “Industrial Dispute” (Article 2, Subparagraph 5)

Currently, the TULRAA defines an industrial dispute as “a state of dispute arising from a disagreement over claims concerning the determination of working conditions, such as wages, working hours, welfare, dismissal, and other treatment.” This definition limits industrial disputes to disagreements arising during the process of determining working conditions applicable to all union members.
 However, this Amendment redefines an industrial dispute as “a state of dispute arising from a disagreement over claims concerning the determination of working conditions, such as wages, working hours, welfare, dismissal, the status of employees, and other treatment, and business management decisions that affect working conditions, as well as from the employer’s clear violation of a collective bargaining agreement regarding matters set forth in Article 92, Subparagraph 2, Items (a) through (d).” Thus, this change expands the scope of legitimate industrial action.
 

(4)

Limitation on Damage Claims Against Unions (Article 3)

While the current TULRAA grants immunity to unions or workers from liability for damages resulting from legitimate collective bargaining and industrial actions, this Amendment broadens this protection to cover damages arising from “other activities of the trade union” as well.
 It also clarifies that a union or worker is not liable for damages caused to an employer when acting in defense against the employer’s illegal acts. It prohibits employers from exercising their right to claim damages for the purpose of interfering with union activities. Moreover, this Amendment outlines specific factors that courts must consider when determining the extent of individual liability for illegal acts committed by the union and/or workers and provides a framework for such union and/or workers to request a reduction in damages.
 

In line with the above, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (the “MOEL”) has announced a legislative notice for a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the TULRAA (the “ED Amendment”) to facilitate a substantive collective bargaining process. The key highlights of the proposed ED Amendment are provided below.
 

(1)

Establishing Grounds for Extension of Labor Relations Commission Decision Period (Article 14-3, Para. 3 and Article 14-5, Para. 5)

Currently, when an employer fails to make a public announcement regarding the fact of a request for bargaining, a trade union may request the relevant Labor Relations Commission (“LRC”) to address this situation. Thus, when the LRC receives such a request for correction, it shall decide thereon within 10 days from the date it receives the request. However, under the ED Amendment, the LRC’s current 10-day decision-making period may be extended once by up to an additional 10 days, allowing for a maximum total of 20 days, as grounds for such extension have been established.
 

(2)

Clarification of Criteria for Separation and Integration Decisions of Bargaining Unit (Article 14-11, Para. 3)

The ED Amendment establishes clear criteria for the LRC when separating or integrating bargaining units. In making such determinations, the LRC must now consider additional factors, including the union’s scope, the commonality of interests, the adequacy of representation by other unions, potential inter-union conflicts, and the parties’ preferences—expanding upon previous criteria such as differences in working conditions, types of employment, and bargaining practices.
 

3.

Permission of Punishment Against Employers with Habitual Wage Payment Delays Under the Amendment to the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act (the “ERBSA”) (Article 44 / Effective as of November 11, 2025)
 

• To strengthen sanctions against employers who intentionally and repeatedly fail to pay wages and in line with the amendment to the Labor Standards Act (the “LSA”), which now allows punishment against employers (regardless of the victim’s will), the amendment of the ERBSA also allows punishment (regardless of the victim’s will) with respect to delays in retirement benefit payment against employers that are listed in the disclosure list pursuant to Article 43-2 of the LSA.
   

4.

Reinforcement of Support for Substitute Employees and Benefits for Reduced Working Hours during the Childcare Period (The Amendment to the Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the Employment Insurance Act (the “Act”) / Effective as of January 1, 2026)
 

• Where an employer continues to employ a substitute employee after the employee on childcare leave returns to work, subsidies for substitute employees will be additionally provided for up to 1 month, and will be paid in full during the period of substitute employment (Articles 29 Para. 4 and Para. 6 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act).

• In calculating the amount of benefits for reduced working hours during the childcare period, the upper limit of the reference amount will be increased as follows: for the first 10 hours of reduction per week (100 % of ordinary wages), from KRW 2.2 million to KRW 2.5 million; and for the remaining reduced working hours (80 % of ordinary wages), from KRW 1.5 million to KRW 1.6 million (Article 104-2, Para.2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act).

•  The procedure to apply for the work-sharing subsidy^[1] will be simplified. When filing an application for the work-sharing subsidy, the employer may simply specify the designated duty sharer in the application form without submitting any supporting documents (Article 51, Para.1 of the Enforcement Rule of the Act).