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The Ministry of Labor released a checklist on working conditions and terms of employment for employers in December 2007. The checklist, aimed at companies with 5 employees or more, includes 48 items from 7 labor-related laws.

According to the Ministry of Labor, the checklist covers major labor law regulations that have been frequently violated by small companies without a dedicated HR manager. Employers may check whether they are observing primary legal standards and thus, resolve problems through the checklist.

Though not developed specifically for foreign companies in general, the checklist may serve as a starting point for foreign start-up companies in Korea to grasp a better understanding of Korean labor law.

No.	Items to check	Penalty for violation
LABOR STANDARDS ACT
1	A company concludes a labor contract with every worker whom it directly employs.
2	An employer, when concluding a labor contract, clearly states terms of employment prescribed by the act.	Fine up to 5 million Won
3	An employer ordinarily employing ten workers or more prepares the rules of employment and submit it to the ministry of labor.	Civil fine up to 5 million Won
4	An employer ordinarily employing ten workers or more keeps workers informed of the rules of employment by always posting or keeping them where workers can have free access to.	Civil fine up to 5 million Won
5	Wages are paid more than once per month on a fixed day.	Imprisonment up to 3 years or fine up to 20 million Won
6	If a worker retires, an employer pays the wages, compensations, and other money or valuables within 14 days after the cause for such payment has occurred. If inevitable, the employer extends the period through the agreement with the worker concerned.	Imprisonment up to 3 years or fine up to 20 million Won
7	An employer preserves a register of workers and other important documents regarding labor contract for three years.	Civil fine up to 5 million Won
8	An employer additionally pays fifty percent or more of the ordinary wages for overtime work, night work (work provided from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.) or holiday work.	Imprisonment up to 3 years or fine up to 20 million Won
9	Over-time work is done based on the agreement with workers. Overtime does not exceed 12 hours per week.	Imprisonment up to 2 years or fine up to 10 million Won
10	An employer does not make a pregnant female worker and a worker aged less than 18 work from 10 P.M to 6 A.M. and on holiday.	Imprisonment up to 2 years or fine up to 10 million Won
11	For each minor under 18, an employer keeps in the workplace a certificate proving his/her family relationships and a written consent of his/her parent or guardian.	Civil fine up to 5 million Won
12	An employer allows a worker more than one-day holiday with pay per week on the average.	Imprisonment up to 2 years or fine up to 10 million Won
13	An employer grants 15 days' paid leave to a worker who has registered more than 80 percent of attendance during one year. After the first year of service, an employer grants one day's paid leave for each two years of consecutive service in addition to the leave for the first year.	Imprisonment up to 2 years or fine up to 10 million Won
14	An employer grants one day's paid leave per month to a worker whose consecutive service period is shorter than one year, if the worker has offered work without an absence throughout a month.	Imprisonment up to 2 years or fine up to 10 million Won
15	An employer, if requested by a female worker, grants her one day's menstruation leave per month.	Fine up to 5 million Won
16	Working hours per week do not exceed 40 (or 44) hours excluding recess hours.	Imprisonment up to 2 years or fine up to 10 million Won
17	Working hours of a person aged between 15 and 18 do not exceed seven hours per day and 40 hours per week.	Imprisonment up to 2 years or fine up to 10 million Won
18	An employer grants a pregnant female worker 90 days of maternity leave before and after childbirth and allocates 45 days or more after the childbirth. The first 60 days of leave is paid.	Imprisonment up to 2 years or fine up to 10 million Won
19	An employer does not have a pregnant female work overtime, and, if there is a request from the concerned worker, transfers the worker to other light or easy work.	Imprisonment up to 2 years or fine up to 10 million Won
20	An employer does not dismiss any worker during a period of temporary interruption of work for medical treatment of an occupational injury or disease and within 30 days thereafter and any female worker before and after childbirth during a period of maternity leave and within 30 days thereafter.	Imprisonment up to 5 years or fine up to 30 million Won
21	An employer gives an advance notice to a worker at least thirty days before dismissal. If the notice is not given thirty days before the dismissal, ordinary wages of thirty days or more are paid to the worker.	Imprisonment up to 2 years or fine up to 10 million Won
22	If an employer intends to dismiss a worker, the employer notifies the worker of reasons for dismissal and dismissal day in writing.
EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT BENEFIT SECURITY ACT
23	An employer pays workers who retire 30 days or more of average wages for each year of their consecutive service as severance pay.	(Failure to make a payment) Imprisonment up to 3 years or fine up to 20 million Won
24	If an employer intends to choose a type of retirement benefit scheme or change the chosen type into a different one, the employer, if there is a labor union composed of majority of worker, obtain the consent of the labor union, and if there is no such labor union, obtain the consent of the majority of workers. If an employer intends to change the contents of a retirement benefit scheme, the employer hears opinion of workers in the same way as above.	Fine up to 5 million Won
MINIMUM WAGE ACT
25	An employer pays a worker a wage not less than minimum wage.	Imprisonment up to 3 years or fine up to 20 million Won
26	An employer keeps workers informed of the minimum wage by posting it where workers can have free access to or by other appropriate means.	Civil fine up to 1 million Won
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT ACT
27	An employer, senior workers, or workers do not engage in sexual harassment at work.	Civil fine up to 10 million Won
28	An employer conducts an education in order to prevent sexual harassment at worker at leas once a year pursuant to the act.	Civil fine up to 3 million Won
29	An employer does not discriminate against men or women based on gender in recruitment and hiring. When recruiting and hiring female workers, an employer does not present nor demand certain physical conditions such as appearance, height, weight, etc., unmarried status, and other conditions determined by the ordinance of the Ministry of Labor which are not required to perform a certain job for which the employer intends to recruit or hire.	Fine up to 5 million Won
30	An employer keeps the documents related to recruitment and hiring as determined by the act for 3 years.	Civil fine up to 3 million Won
31	An employer pays the equal wage for the work of equal value in the same business regardless of gender.	Imprisonment up to 3 years or fine up to 20 million Won
32	An employer does not discriminate against men or women in managing welfare programs, training, deployment, and promotion.	Fine up to 5 million Won
33	An employer does not discriminate against men or women with respect to retirement age, retirement and dismissal.	Imprisonment up to 5 years or fine up to 30 million Won
34	An employer allows, when a worker with a nursling and infant aged less than 3 years applies for the childcare leave to take care of the infant, the childcare leave.	Fine up to 5 million Won
ACT ON THE PROTECTION OF DISPATCHED WORKERS
35	An employer does not use a dispatched worker who is offered by a person who did not acquire the permission for worker dispatch undertakings from the ministry of labor or who violated restrictions on jobs and reasons for worker dispatch as prescribed by the act.	Imprisonment up to 3 years or fine up to 20 million
36	The length of a dispatch period of a dispatched worker does not exceed two years in total.	Imprisonment up to 3 years or fine up to 20 million Won
37	An employer directly employs a dispatched worker if the employer uses the worker in excess of two years.	Civil fine up to 30 million Won
38	An employer selects a person in charge of the management of using dispatched workers, prepare a ledger for management of using dispatched workers and preserve it for three years.	(Failure to prepare and preserve the ledger) Civil fine up to 3 million Won
ACT ON THE PROTECTION OF FIXED-TERM AND PART-TIME EMPLOYEES
39	When an employer makes a labor contract with fixed-term or part-time employees, he clearly states in writing matters determined by the act. (contract period, working and rest hours, wages, holidays and leave, place of work, jobs to do, and etc)	Civil fine up to 5 million Won
40	An employer hires fixed-term employees for a period not exceeding two years.
41	If an employer hires fixed-term employees for more than two years, the fixed-term employees are considered as workers who have made a labor contract with no fixed-term.
ACT ON THE PROMOTION OF WORKER PARTICIPATION AND COOPERATION
42	A company with 30 or more permanent workers established a labor-management council, drew up bylaws governing the organization and operation of the council, and submitted it to the ministry of labor.	(Failure to establish the council) Fine up to 10 million Won (Failure to submit the bylaws) Civil fine up to 2 million Won
43	A labor-management council is composed of an equal number of members representing the employer and the workers, respectively, the number of which is not less than 3 nor more than 10. There are a chairman and a secretary for the council.
44	A labor-management council holds meetings once every three months. The council draws up and keeps minutes of its meetings.	(Failure to hold meetings) Civil fine up to 2 million Won
45	A company with 30 or more permanent workers has grievance handling members consisting of three members or less representing labor and management.	Civil fine up to 2 million Won
46	A grievance handling members draw up and keep a ledger relating to the receipt and handling of grievances and preserve it for one year.
47	An employer seeks resolution of the labor-management council on matters determined by the act. The council notifies workers, without delay, matters on whick resolutions are made.	(Failure to seek the resolution) Fine up to 10 million Won
48	The hours spent by a member to attend the labor-management council and engage in activities directly related thereto are regarded as hours devoted to work.

Employment in Korea's manufacturing sector is declining by the year, as the trend of jobless growth seeps deeper into the economy due to an advancing market and increasing number of companies expanding overseas investments, according to a state-run think tank.

This phenomenon has been most apparent in the manufacturing sector, the pillar of the nation's economy, the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade said in a report.

In 1993, it took an average of 11.08 workers to produce 1 billion won worth of goods, but the figure dropped more than two-fold to 3.92 people by 2005, according to the study on the impact of macroeconomics on industries released yesterday. In 2006, the figure dropped further to 3.66 workers, showing an overall decline of 67 percent since 1993.

Asia's fourth-largest economy has been struggling with uncertain job prospects as manufacturing companies seek to build factories in markets with cheaper labor like China, India, and Vietnam. The lack of government incentives and high taxes have also prompted companies to look offshore or to hold back investments at home.

By manufacturers, according to the report, information-technology firms, such as electronics parts makers, and audio and telecommunications equipment makers, saw the steepest decline to 1.69 workers in 2006, down 85 percent from the 11.31 recorded in 1993. Computer and office equipment manufacturers suffered the biggest drop, of 2.45 workers, an 86 percent plunge from an average of 16.96 recorded 13 years ago.

However, the metal industry, most representative of the smokestack industry, felt the least impact, as it employed an average of 11.25 workers in 2006, down 20 percent from 13.99 workers registered in 1993. The service industry also experienced the smallest impact compared to manufacturers, as it employed 17.56 people per firm on average, down 27 percent from 23.94 during the same period.

Machinery equipment rental companies and supplies rental firms hired more people, with employees averaging 29.9, up 19 percent from 24.55. The property market also saw a rise, with 5.42 workers per firm, a 40 percent jump from 3.87.

The KIET report attributed the growth to development of the information-technology industry and the advance of technologies. The think tank projects the gap in employment between the manufacturing and service industries to widen because of the accelerating pace of job cuts by manufacturing firms.

Between 1995 and 2006, the labor productivity rate of manufacturing companies grew an average of 8.8 percent annually, while the service industry in general recorded an average of 1.8 percent. Within the service sector, only telecommunications firms saw a higher increase, with 11.8 percent.

"The employment rate in the manufacturing sector has been falling rapidly since the 1990s and into the following decade," the KIET report stated. "On the other hand, jobs are growing in the service sector, while our productivity is declining. This shows a different pattern from advanced economies where job growth is accompanied by productivity growth." (Korea Herald)

Samsung Electronics Co. has been chosen as the best company to work for in Korea by college students, an online job recruiter said yesterday. According to Incruit, the electronics giant topped the list of 130 leading firms as the most favored employer in a survey of 2,205 college students. The firm has not slipped from the top spot since the poll started in 2004.

Samsung Electronics, a flagship unit of the country's largest conglomerate, Samsung Group, is the world's leading manufacturer of high-tech gadgets and electronic appliances, including cell phones, televisions and computer memory chips.

The respondents gave high marks to the company's fair and transparent compensation plan, including its performance-based pay and annual bonus plan, Incruit officials explained. Similar previous surveys have also shown that Samsung is the top choice among job seekers.

Kookmin Bank, the country's largest lender by asset, ranked second, followed by Korean Air. Yuhan Kimberly, POSCO, CJ, Asiana Airlines, SK Energy, Korea Electric Power Corp. and SK Telecom Co. rounded out the top 10. (Korea Herald)

Workers aged 65 or above accounted for 11.2 percent of the total workforce last year, up from 10.8 percent in 2006 and 5.9 percent in 1985. The number of senior citizens in the labor market has increased 75 percent over the past decade as more old people choose to work longer in line with rising life expectancy. The ratio of workers 65 or older in the total workforce has doubled in two decades.

According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) Sunday, the number of senior workers reached 1.52 million last year, up 75.1 percent from 869,000 in 1997, amid a rapidly aging population.

The number of Koreans aged over 65 increased by 66 percent to 4.87 million in 2007 from 10 years ago as people live longer on better healthcare and nutrition. South Koreans' average life expectancy rose to 79.2 years in 2006 from 78.6 years in 2005, with women outliving men by 6.6 years, according to the statistical office.

"Amid a rapidly aging population and low birthrates, the number of senior citizens has increased over the years, and their social and economic roles have expanded. As Korea's population is projected to become even grayer in coming years, the country needs to introduce a range of measures to make full use of older workers to boost the economy," an NSO official said.

Local companies increasingly prefer to hire workers on an irregular and temporary basis with little job security and lower wages to meet their manpower demand. Older workers who have already retired from previous jobs are willing to accept the lower-paying jobs.

But the majority of younger workers, including college graduates, are looking for regular work. But as companies are reluctant to hire them, few have succeeded in landing jobs, resulting in a smaller number of younger workers. In December, the jobless rate for those aged 15 to 29 stood at 7.3 percent, substantially higher than the overall unemployment rate of 3.1 percent. (Korea Times)

President-elect Lee Myung-bak said Tuesday that the nation may fail to revitalize its sluggish economy if labor and management fail to achieve peaceful relations. Lee made the remark during a surprise visit here to the main car assembly plant of GM Daewoo Auto & Technology, a subsidiary of the U.S. auto giant.

"The South Korean economy may face challenges this year due to difficulties in the global economy. The only way to overcome such obstacles is to achieve peace between labor and management and upgrade corporate competitiveness," Lee said in his meeting with GM Daewoo managers and workers.

"I have looked at GM Daewoo with much interest, as it has tided over various difficulties and attained exemplary success," Lee said, praising the U.S.-invested automaker as a model for peaceful labor-management relations and foreign investment.

Lee's visit to GM Daewoo came one day after he suddenly canceled a planned meeting with leaders of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions due to a dispute over the militant labor umbrella group's refusal to apologize for its involvement in various illegal labor activities.

"Mutual trust is the most important factor. I have heard labor and management at some local firms have frequent confrontations over reemployment of labor unionists dismissed for illegal labor activities. Stable management must be prioritized," Lee said. "There have been no labor disputes at GM Daewoo over the past five years. I wish GM Daewoo would continue to be an example in cooperative labor-management relations."

GM Daewoo Auto & Technology, established in 2002, has five manufacturing facilities in Korea, as well as an assembly plant in Vietnam. In addition, GM Daewoo provides market and brand-specific vehicle kits for assembly at GM facilities in China, Thailand, India, Colombia and Venezuela. (Yonhap)

Foreigners will likely be allowed to compete for all South Korean government positions, except for those related to national security and intelligence, under the the policies of President-elect Lee Myung-bak.

Lee's transition team said Monday it has finalized its decision to almost fully open government jobs to foreigners and is to present a revision of the public service law to the National Assembly later Monday. The decision came after Lee last week instructed his team to work out measures to take advantage of foreign specialists' expertise in helping South Korea revitalize and upgrade its sluggish economy.

According to the revision, which is subject to parliamentary approval, expatriate citizens will be given full access to all government positions, except for sensitive posts related to national security and classified state intelligence.

"We have decided to revise the law so that competent foreigners can be appointed to needed positions," transition committee spokesperson Lee Dong-kwan said in a briefing Monday. "We will also seek measures to commit foreign officials to confidentiality even after retirement." The current public service law allows temporary recruitment of foreign nationals only in a small number of fields such as research, technology and education.

South Korea's incoming leader Lee is looking at drastically reforming government bureaucracy, aiming at a slim, practical organization with fewer officials and government agencies. (Yonhap)