[New Year's Address] Labor Minister Kim Younghoon: "We Will Prevent Deaths at Work... Realizing Workplace Democracy"

"Realizing the Right of the People to Be Happy at Work"
Expanding Industrial Safety Inspections to 50,000 Workplaces

Kim Younghoon, Minister of Employment and Labor, has identified strengthening industrial safety as a key task in his New Year's address for 2026. Minister Kim stated, "We will make every effort to eliminate risk disparities in the workplace so that no one dies while working," and announced plans to focus policy resources on small businesses and high-risk sites.

In his New Year's address released on January 1, Minister Kim said, "We will demonstrate real growth together with labor by realizing workplace democracy." He declared his intention to make this year the inaugural year of a "country where everyone can work happily."

He reflected on the tragedy of industrial accidents, referencing the recent collapse at the Ulsan thermal power plant. Minister Kim emphasized, "The most fearful moments in the workplace are when facing the grief of families who have lost loved ones to industrial accidents," and pledged, "We will make this a year in which the promise to ensure that workers' sacrifices are not in vain is kept."

Mentioning the dignity, happiness, and right to work guaranteed by the Constitution, Minister Kim stated, "The reason for the existence of the Ministry of Employment and Labor is to realize the right of the people to be happy at work." He added, "We will answer the public's question of why their lives do not change even when the government does, by implementing constitutional values in the workplace."

In particular, Minister Kim announced plans to shift the growth strategy through the "realization of workplace democracy." He said that the previous growth model, which relied on long hours and low wages, has led to labor market disparities and low growth. "New growth is not about excluding labor, but about making labor the main agent of growth," he said. "We will prove that the economy becomes stronger when labor is respected," he added.

Kim Younghoon, Minister of Employment and Labor, is giving a briefing on the revised subordinate regulations of the Labor Union Act at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on November 24, 2025. Photo by Cho Yongjun

Minister Kim stated, "To eliminate risk disparities in the workplace, we will significantly expand the number of industrial safety inspections from 24,000 workplaces last year to 50,000 this year, and for large companies where serious accidents are repeated, we will introduce not only strict investigations but also economic sanctions." He also made it clear that the rights to know, participate, and refuse unsafe work for subcontracted workers will be guaranteed, without distinction between primary contractors and subcontractors.

Minister Kim also emphasized the eradication of the "free labor" practice, including wage arrears and the abuse of the comprehensive wage system. "Wage arrears are theft," he said, "and can never be tolerated for reasons such as business difficulties." He presented plans to raise statutory penalties for employers who delay wages, make labor rights education mandatory, and promote legal revisions to expand the "separate wage payment system," which requires wages to be paid as a separate item in subcontracting contracts. He also stated, "We will begin in earnest to establish laws, systems, and infrastructure to realize equal pay for work of equal value."

There are also numerous policies for young people and vulnerable groups. Minister Kim announced, "We will build a database to identify 'inactive youth,' establish 10 'Job First Step Guarantee Centers,' and gradually support work experience at large companies and AI future skills training."

Regarding the revised Labor Union Act, he said, "We will break the vicious cycle where dialogue itself becomes illegal and guarantee substantive bargaining rights for subcontracted workers," adding, "Through subordinate regulations and manuals, we will ensure that the so-called 'real employer' participates in negotiations."

Reducing working hours and improving work-life balance were also presented as major tasks. Minister Kim stated, "We will reduce annual working hours to the OECD average of around 1,700 hours," and "We will provide financial support and establish a legal basis for the voluntary introduction of a 4.5-day workweek." For night shift workers, he added, "We will prepare management measures such as guaranteeing minimum rest periods and limiting consecutive working days."

Kim Younghoon, Minister of Employment and Labor, is giving a briefing on the revised subordinate regulations of the Labor Union Act at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on November 24, 2025. Photo by Cho Yongjun

The strategy of a "major transformation with labor" to respond to the decline in the working-age population was also emphasized. Minister Kim said, "We will expand labor market participation for seniors, working parents, people with disabilities, and foreign workers," and "We will provide tailored support for people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, and reduce the childcare burden for working parents by introducing measures such as a 10 a.m. start system and short-term parental leave during school vacations." He also stressed, "We will treat 1.1 million foreign workers as neighbors who enrich local communities."

The former Deputy Prime Minister stated, "To protect platform and specially employed workers, we will promote the enactment of the 'Basic Rights Act for Working People,' and to address blind spots where workers are not protected because they cannot prove their employee status, we will introduce a worker presumption system." He also announced that supervision and guidance regarding the "fake 3.3 contracts" practice would be strengthened.

Minister Kim's New Year's address also included responses to changes brought by artificial intelligence (AI) and industrial transformation. He stated, "Through the 'AI+Capability Up Project,' we will provide step-by-step AI job training to 240,000 people this year and 1 million people over the next five years," and "We will establish ethical guidelines to protect workers from algorithmic unfairness and personal data breaches." In addition, he announced plans to respond to heatwaves and cold waves caused by climate change, support the swift return of industrial accident victims to work, shorten the processing period for industrial accident claims, and improve the criteria for recognizing industrial accidents.

Finally, Minister Kim emphasized, "Workplace democracy is the realization of K-democracy," adding, "When labor is respected, unjust deaths disappear and the economy grows." He concluded, "In 2026, the Ministry of Employment and Labor will not look for excuses. We will steadily move forward toward a happy Republic of Korea where labor is respected."