On May 3, 2022, the Presidential Transition Committee (the "Committee") unveiled its "20 Promises to the People" and "110 National Agenda," which are commitments and policies to achieve the Yoon Administration's goals and objectives.  In creating a society where the value of labor is respected, the Committee proposed the following seven national agenda items in [Table 1] below related to labor.  It should also be mentioned that President Yoon's term officially started on May 10, 2022.
 

[Table 1] Governmental Affairs in the Labor Sector

The details of the National Agenda, as described later below under [Table 2], reveal that most of the labor policies that President Yoon announced during the election campaign are included.  Through this announcement, we can additionally confirm that the key labor policies the Yoon Administration plans to focus on are (i) safety, (ii) fairness and (iii) co-prosperity.  Considering the current legislative environment (i.e., supermajority control by the Democratic Party), it is expected that amendments to Enforcement Decrees and guidelines of labor statutes will be prioritized, while issues requiring amendments to statutes will be pursued gradually over time through continuous social dialogue and consensus building.
 

• First and foremost, to establish a safe labor market, the Yoon Administration is expected to establish a roadmap to reduce serious accidents, identify major tasks to pursue, and further strengthen support for industrial accident prevention.  In addition, it is anticipated that uncertainties regarding management's obligation to ensure safety and health that arose after enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act will be primarily addressed by distributing guidelines and manuals.  However, considering the legislative environment, the process of revising the laws and regulations related to occupational safety and health, including the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, is expected to be pursued as a long-term project.  On the other hand, the government will make efforts to resolve the blind spots of industrial accident compensation insurance by revising the "exclusivity requirement"¹ to ensure the industrial safety of the specially employed and platform workers.

• Next, in order to establish a fair labor market, the government is planning to pursue the following: (i) guarantee fair employment opportunities, (ii) protect the labor rights of the vulnerable, (iii) create a foundation for gender-equal employment, and (iv) establish fair labor-management relations.  As of now, efforts will be focused on rectifying unfair hiring clauses in, for example, the collective bargaining agreements ("CBAs") of various companies, such as preferential hiring of children of retired or long-term employees, and strictly disciplining any unfair dismissals, unfair labor practices, and illegal strikes by the labor union in accordance with the relevant laws and principles.

• In order to establish a labor market based on shared prosperity between labor and management, policies such as (i) expansion of working hour options, (ii) expansion of a joint Labor-Management Council comprised of employee representatives from both prime contractors and subcontractors, and (iii) expansion of age-based wage schemes will be pursued.  Meanwhile, in order to reform the wage system, policies such as strengthening the provision of wage information by job and occupation through the wage job information system and disseminating a wage system reform manual will be implemented with top priority.
   

In addition to efforts focusing on safety, fairness and co-prosperity, the government will also improve employment services for companies and job seekers, restructure government-led job creation projects, support development of vocational skills and self-training, and strengthen vocational training.

According to the Committee's press release, in the early days of President Yoon's Administration, rather than immediately pursuing macro-labor reforms that change the basic framework of the labor market, we understand the new government will pursue stability, fairness and co-prosperity in the labor market through small changes under the current system, and that legislative matters will continue with social dialogue to build consensus around amending existing laws.  Jung-Sik Lee, the former secretary-general of the Korea Labor-Management Development Foundation, will be introduced as the Minister of Employment and Labor in the Yoon Administration.
 

[Table 2] Labor Sector National Agenda and Key Issues

[Korean version]