Minister Lee Jeong-sik Press Conference with Accredited Reporters
The government has officially begun consultations to establish a Labor Court dedicated to handling labor cases such as unfair dismissal and wage arrears. The goal is to complete the enactment of the relevant legislation within the current administration's term.
On the 23rd, Lee Jeong-sik, Minister of Employment and Labor, stated at a press briefing, "The vice ministers of the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Justice discussed the schedule, direction, and principles for establishing the Labor Court this morning." Minister Lee added, "If the government shows determination and effort, we believe the legislation can be finalized within this administration's term."
Earlier, at a public discussion on the 14th, President Yoon Seok-yeol officially announced plans to enact the "Act on Support and Protection for Labor Vulnerable Groups" (hereinafter referred to as the Labor Vulnerable Protection Act) and to establish a Labor Court to support unorganized workers, who are labor union minorities, during his term.
The establishment of a Labor Court has been pursued several times under previous administrations. It was one of the key tasks of the Presidential Commission on Judicial System Reform during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, and later, under the Moon Jae-in administration, the Court Administration Office and the court labor union agreed through collective bargaining to jointly work toward establishing a Labor Court.
Minister Lee said, "The Labor Court is a result of considering effective measures to protect the vulnerable in line with the current administration's focus on improving people's livelihoods," and added that judicial systems from countries such as Germany, which operates a Labor Court, as well as the United States and Japan, will be referenced. Regarding the possibility of passage in the National Assembly, he expressed confidence, saying, "Since proposals have been made across party lines, I believe it is possible within this term."
Regarding the minimum wage deliberations, which are attracting attention as they may exceed 10,000 won for the first time, he shared the view that "There are opinions ranging from revising the law to allow differentiated application by industry and region to abolishing differentiated application by industry altogether, so we need to comprehensively reconsider the decision-making process."
On the stalled tripartite social dialogue among labor, management, and government, he said, "I understand it will gain momentum soon." Minister Lee noted, "Dialogue is a challenging process," and added, "Despite limited experience with social dialogue, the tripartite parties made efforts and agreed on a basic direction last February, so I expect it to proceed well in the near future."
Regarding the shortage and reinforcement of personnel responsible for investigating major industrial accidents, he said, "As cases have increased, investigation periods have lengthened, and the processing rate (the proportion of cases investigated by the Ministry of Employment and Labor that have been sent to the prosecution or closed) was only 30%. Since the top priority in protecting labor vulnerable groups is 'not dying or getting injured,' we have continuously discussed personnel reinforcement."
The day before, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced a legislative notice for the "Partial Amendment to the Organization Regulations of the Ministry of Employment and Labor and Its Affiliated Agencies," which includes the establishment of six new divisions at local employment and labor offices and the addition of 75 necessary personnel to investigate and investigate major industrial accidents.
The Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which came into effect in January 2021, stipulates criminal punishment for business owners if workers are injured or die due to serious accidents at workplaces. Since January 27, it has been expanded to apply to companies with fewer than 50 employees (5?49 employees).
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