Key Summary
- The Korea Employers Federation delivered a proposal to the National Assembly covering 19 legislative items that business groups say are needed to support economic activity and corporate competitiveness.
- Among the top priorities is the proposed super-regional special zone law, which business groups want passed quickly to support investment.
- Business groups also called for supplementary legislation to reduce confusion surrounding the revised labor union law that took effect in March.
- They urged cautious review of proposals such as a statutory retirement-age extension and a worker presumption system.
- They also said legal procedures related to wage-system changes and strike vote rules should be introduced without delay.
Main Story
South Korea’s business community has pressed lawmakers to move faster on a range of bills it says could significantly affect the country’s industrial and employment environment. The Korea Employers Federation said on the 10th that it had submitted a proposal to the National Assembly containing 19 legislative items that employers consider necessary.
The federation organized the proposals into three groups: bills it wants passed quickly, bills already pending in the Assembly that it says require careful review, and items it believes should be introduced without delay. At the top of the fast-track list is the super-regional special zone bill, which was introduced last month to encourage corporate investment.
The federation said that if the bill includes a “white-collar exemption” allowing certain research and development personnel and other workers to fall outside the 52-hour weekly work cap, it would help promote investment and hiring.
It also said supplementary legislation is urgently needed to reduce confusion linked to the revised union law, which took effect in March. The federation argued that the scope of who qualifies as an employer should be made more explicit in law, noting that ambiguity has continued to surface during parliamentary audits. It said the definition should clearly cover those who have enough decision-making authority over working conditions to be treated like the direct employer.
In addition, the group said the law should clearly state that certain high-level managerial decisions, including profit distribution and workforce allocation or redeployment, are excluded from the definition of labor disputes. In its view, doing so would protect shareholder interests and avoid discouraging active investment.
For proposals requiring cautious review, the federation pointed to a statutory extension of the retirement age and a worker presumption system. On retirement-age extension, it warned that a uniform increase could reduce firms’ room to hire new workers and worsen youth employment difficulties, and it suggested post-retirement rehiring as an alternative.
Regarding the worker presumption system, which is intended to protect platform and special-category workers, the federation said it does not fit the current labor-law framework and could increase costs for small businesses and the self-employed, potentially leading to fewer jobs.
Among the items it says should be introduced promptly are procedural changes for workplace rules related to wage-system reform and improvements to the system for strike votes.
Lee Dong-geun, standing vice chairman of the federation, said the National Assembly should listen to the concerns of businesses facing a rapidly changing management environment. He added that the federation will continue to present employers’ views through relevant standing committees.
He also said that broader tax support for investment and measures to prevent the leakage of key technologies should be put in place quickly if companies are to strengthen their competitiveness.
Background
The supplied article does not provide additional background beyond references to the revised union law taking effect in March and the super-regional special zone bill being introduced last month.
Items Requiring Further Verification
- The article reports positions and assessments from the Korea Employers Federation, which are advocacy claims rather than independently verified facts.
- The expected effects of the super-regional special zone bill, including investment and hiring gains, are presented as a forecast and remain unverified.
- The claim that clarification of employer scope and labor-dispute definitions would protect shareholder interests and encourage investment is an argument, not a confirmed outcome.
- The asserted negative effects of a retirement-age extension and the worker presumption system are predictive and would require independent verification.
- The article states that ambiguity over employer scope has been repeatedly raised during parliamentary audits, but does not provide detailed evidence in the text.