Korean Rules of Employment Required When Employing Ten or More Workers in Korea

I was contacted by a new client that was advised by their former Korean legal counsel that they were not required to have employment rules for their operations in Korea. In most cases, an employer that employs ten or more workers must have rules of employment, and the rules must be filed with the Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor. One of the most significant risks facing companies doing business in Korea is related to Korean Labor & Employment Law. Please obtain a proactive and experienced lawyer in Korea for these matters. We see too many issues, because of a lack of proactivity and planning.

KOREAN LABOR STANDARDS ACT
CHAPTER Ⅸ RULES OF EMPLOYMENT

Article 93 (Preparation and Report of Rules of Employment)

An employer who ordinarily employs ten or more workers shall prepare the rules of employment regarding the matters falling under each of the following subparagraphs and report such rules to the Minister of Labor. The same shall also apply in case where he/she amends such rules:

1. Matters pertaining to the starting and ending time of work, recess hours, holidays, leaves, and shifts;

2. Matters pertaining to the determination, calculation and payment method of wages, the period for which wages are calculated, the time of paying wages, and pay raises;

3. Matters pertaining to the methods of calculation and payment of family allowances;

4. Matters pertaining to retirement;

5. Matters pertaining to retirement allowances under the provisions of Article 8 of the Guarantee of Workers’ Retirement Benefits Act, bonuses, and minimum wages;

6. Matters pertaining to the burden of workers’ meal allowances, expenses of operational tools or necessities and so forth;

7. Matters pertaining to educational facilities for workers;

8. Matters pertaining to the protection of workers’ maternity and work- family balance assistance, such as leaves before and after childbirth and child-care leaves;

9. Matters pertaining to safety and health;

9-2. Matters pertaining to the improvement of environment of a place of work according to characteristics of workers, such as sex, ages or physical conditions, etc.;

10. Matters pertaining to assistance with respect to occupational and non- occupational accidents;

11. Matters pertaining to award and punishment; and

12. Other matters applicable to all workers within the business or workplace concerned.

Sean Hayes is the first non-Korean attorney to have worked for the Korean court system (Constitutional Court of Korea) and one of the first non-Koreans to be a regular member of a Korean law faculty. Sean is ranked, for Korea, as one of only a few non-Korean lawyers as a Top Attorney by AsiaLaw,  IPG Legal is consistently ranked a Top Dispute Resolution Law Firm for our litigation, arbitration, and mediation services, and IPG Legal is consistently rated a top-tier law firm in corporate law, litigation, arbitration, franchise law, distribution law, estate law, family law, employment & labor law, and criminal defense.

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