SEOUL, June 27 (Korea Bizwire) — The average South Korean worker earned 3.97 million won ($2,870) in April this year, working 165.5 hours for the month, according to new data released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Thursday. While wages rose modestly, the outlook for core industries like manufacturing and construction continues to darken [...]
SEOUL, June 25 (Korea Bizwire) — More than 8.47 million South Koreans—including freelancers, gig workers, and platform laborers—now make up a major portion of the labor market, yet remain largely excluded from the country’s national pension system, a new government report has found. The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA) released a report [...]
SEOUL, June 25 (Korea Bizwire) — More than half of recent South Korean college graduates view the private sector’s growing preference for experienced hires as a major obstacle to entering the job market, according to a new report by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). In its analysis of 144,181 job postings listed [...]
SEOUL, June 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Workers at Neople, the Nexon subsidiary behind the blockbuster Dungeon & Fighter franchise, will stage a full-scale, three-day strike this week—marking the first such labor action in South Korea’s gaming industry. The Neople union, part of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), announced Tuesday that it will hold mass [...]
SEOUL, June 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor announced Saturday that it will accept applications for new employment permits for foreign workers from July 7 to 18 through local labor offices nationwide, as part of the country’s third-round quota for 2025. A total of 18,054 foreign workers will be newly authorized [...]
SEOUL, June 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Labor tensions are intensifying at South Korea’s top platform companies as unions at Naver and Kakao step up protests, raising fresh questions about corporate governance and workforce management in the country’s fast-evolving tech sector. According to the ICT industry on Sunday, Naver’s union, part of the Korean Federation of [...]
SEOUL, June 16 (Korea Bizwire) — A growing number of South Korean workers believe the legal minimum wage should be extended to cover gig workers, freelancers, and those in special employment arrangements, reflecting mounting concern over the widening protections gap in the evolving labor market. According to a survey released Sunday by the labor rights group [...]
ULSAN, South Korea, June 12 (Korea Bizwire) – Hyundai Motor’s labor union is demanding compensation of 20 million won (approximately $14,500) per worker in this year’s wage and collective bargaining talks, citing the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling on the inclusion of regular bonuses in base pay calculations. Although the court limited retroactive application of the decision [...]
SEOUL, June 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s labor market showed clear signs of softening last month, with the number of job openings per job seeker hitting its lowest May level since the 1998 IMF crisis, and the growth in employment insurance enrollments falling to a five-year low, government data showed Monday. According to the [...]
SEOUL, June 2 (Korea Bizwire) – Despite legal protections for maternity and parental leave in South Korea, new data reveals that many workers—particularly non-regular employees—continue to face pressure and retaliation for attempting to exercise these rights. The labor advocacy group Gapjil 119 on Sunday disclosed 58 cases of workplace mistreatment related to childbirth and parenting over [...]