[Yoon Government Task] Expansion of Working Hours Choice... Minimum Wage Reform Excluded

Activation of Flexible Work Including Remote Work
Supplementing Serious Accident Punishment Act... Emphasizing Autonomy
Supporting Establishment of Labor Director System in Public Sector

Yoon Seok-yeol, the president-elect of the 20th presidential term, is receiving the national agenda prepared by the transition committee from Ahn Cheol-soo, the chairman of the transition committee, during the plenary meeting held at the Presidential Transition Committee in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 3rd. Photo by Transition Committee Press Corps

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration has set a goal to expand the choice of working hour systems for labor and management and to spread a wage system centered on job performance. It also plans to improve related laws and systems to resolve uncertainties in the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and to strive for the establishment of fair labor-management relations.

However, the differentiated application of the minimum wage, which was one of President-elect Yoon's pledges, was not included in the national agenda. This is interpreted as a plan to discuss the issue over time, considering that pushing it too forcefully could provoke strong opposition from the labor sector.

The Presidential Transition Committee (Transition Committee) announced on the 3rd the '110 National Tasks of the Yoon Suk-yeol Government,' which includes these contents. Regarding labor, the Transition Committee prepared detailed national tasks under the theme of "Creating a society where the value of labor is respected."

Resolving On-site Uncertainties... Possible Revisions to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act

First, the Transition Committee plans to strengthen industrial accident prevention in vulnerable sectors and improve related laws and systems to fit industrial sites, thereby establishing a corporate autonomous safety management system.

Although the Transition Committee did not explicitly mention improvements to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which is of great interest to companies, emphasizing the establishment of an autonomous safety management system through legal and institutional improvements is interpreted as an indication that the Act will be supplemented in the future.

The Transition Committee explained, "We will resolve uncertainties on-site through amendments to industrial safety and health-related laws and clarify the obligations of management to ensure safety and health through guidelines and manuals."

Additionally, the Transition Committee plans to prepare a 'Serious Accident Reduction Roadmap' and innovate industrial accident prevention infrastructure by developing and discovering smart safety devices and equipment such as wearable robots and distributing them to small-scale workplaces.

Expanding occupational health infrastructure, including support for installing worker rest facilities and expanding health centers, as well as expanding occupational disease monitoring systems, are also included in the national tasks. A comprehensive industrial accident prevention portal will be established, and the platform for sharing industrial accident prevention information for platform workers will be expanded.

Expanding Choice of Working Hours... Support for Remote Work

The Transition Committee decided to promote both the autonomous expansion of working hour choices by labor and management and measures to protect workers' health. They will prepare activation plans such as extending the settlement period for the selective working hour system and extend the working hour savings account system. Plans to manage total working hours and support deregulation of working hours for startup professionals will also be prepared.

The Transition Committee explained, "We plan to support the use of various working hour systems tailored to the characteristics of company size and industry, and also support efforts to improve work culture through the activation of flexible work such as remote work."

They will also promote the spread of a generational coexistence-type wage system, which was a pledge of President-elect Yoon. They plan to strengthen the provision of wage information by job and occupation through the Wage Job Information System and expand support for wage system reform that meets corporate demand.

In particular, the Transition Committee will promote institutional improvements to strengthen the representativeness and independence of worker representatives in labor-management councils to build cooperative labor-management relations, support the establishment of the labor director system in the public sector, and establish a mediation system centered on full-time members who are experts in labor relations within the Labor Commission.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

No Mention of Differentiated Minimum Wage Application

There was no mention of differentiated application of the minimum wage in the national tasks. President-elect Yoon promised during his candidacy to resolve issues related to differentiated minimum wage application and rapid increases, but recently appears to be moderating the pace considering opposition from the labor sector.

At a confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly the day before, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance nominee Choo Kyung-ho said regarding differentiated application of the minimum wage by industry and region, "There is already a legal basis to do so," but added, "It is necessary to conduct proper surveys or research and have thorough discussions," indicating a slowdown in the process.

While acknowledging the necessity, it is interpreted as a plan to discuss the matter in the mid to long term due to strong opposition from the labor sector. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions recently issued a statement emphasizing, "Considering the social costs involved in selecting industries subject to differentiated minimum wage application, the actual cost reduction effect will be minimal."