SEOUL, April 29, (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s overall disability employment rate saw a modest improvement in 2024, but private-sector companies continue to lag behind their mandatory hiring targets, government data showed Monday. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, as of the end of 2024, the average disability employment rate across 32,692 public [...]
GWANGJU, April 28 (Korea Bizwire) — The recorded message comes before every call now: “This call will be recorded from this point onward.” It was supposed to make things better. It hasn’t. At the Seo District Office in Gwangju, where municipal workers answer hundreds of citizen complaints each week, the voices on the other end of [...]
SEOUL, April 23 (Korea Bizwire) — As anticipation builds for South Korea’s May “golden holiday,” new data reveals a stark reality for many franchise workers: more than 60% of franchise outlets nationwide operate without a single regular day off. According to figures released on April 23, 2025, by Statistics Korea through the national statistics portal (KOSIS), [...]
SEOUL, April 23, (Korea Bizwire) — For the first time, women working at South Korea’s top 500 companies earned more than 70 percent of what their male counterparts make, according to a new report signaling slow but steady progress in narrowing the corporate gender pay gap. The report, released April 22, 2025, by corporate analysis [...]
SEOUL, April 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite growing awareness of labor rights in South Korea, workers at businesses with fewer than five employees continue to face widespread legal exclusion and exploitation, according to a report released Sunday by labor advocacy group Workplace Gapjil 119. The group highlighted recent consultations with employees at small firms who reported [...]
SEOUL, April 17 (Korea Bizwire) — In a move to strengthen protections for crime victims, South Korea’s Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and the Ministry of Employment and Labor have jointly revised internal guidelines to make it easier for affected workers to receive unemployment benefits. Announced on April 16, the new policy allows individuals who leave their jobs [...]
SEOUL, April 16, (Korea Bizwire) — A large majority of South Korean small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) employing foreign workers under the country’s Employment Permit System expressed satisfaction with the current framework, despite persistent concerns about language barriers and bureaucratic complexity, a new survey shows. According to the Korea Federation of SMEs, 86.8 percent of [...]
YEONGAM, South Korea, April 14 (Korea Bizwire) — The death of a 28-year-old Nepali migrant worker in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, has sparked national concern and renewed calls for labor reform, as rights groups accuse his former employer of sustained abuse and exploitation. The worker, identified only as Mr. A, was found dead in February 2025 [...]
SEOUL, April 14 (Korea Bizwire) — As South Korea enters an early presidential race, a recent survey has revealed that the top policy demand among labor experts is the full application of the Labor Standards Act to all workers, including those at small businesses and in freelance or non-standard roles. In a poll conducted by labor [...]
SEOUL, April 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s largest banks posted record-breaking profits in 2024, yet their hiring of entry-level employees remained flat or declined, drawing criticism for neglecting their social responsibility to create jobs—particularly for young job seekers facing a worsening employment climate. According to data obtained by Rep. Kim Hyun-jung of the National [...]