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Archive by category Labor & Employment

Korea’s Seniors Work into Their 70s as Pension System Falls Short

Korea’s Seniors Work into Their 70s as Pension System Falls Short

SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea now has the highest employment rate among seniors in the OECD, a trend driven less by choice than by economic hardship as the country enters an era of rapid population aging. A report released Wednesday by Oh Yoo-jin, a researcher at the National Pension Research Institute, shows that [...]

Korea Moves to Replace Civil Service ‘Duty of Obedience’ With Protections Against Unlawful Orders

Korea Moves to Replace Civil Service ‘Duty of Obedience’ With Protections Against Unlawful Orders

SEOUL, Nov. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea is preparing to abolish a decades-old legal requirement obligating civil servants to obey orders from their superiors, a cornerstone of the country’s bureaucratic culture since 1949. The move marks one of the most significant shifts in public-sector governance in more than half a century. The Ministry of Personnel [...]

Inequality ‘Built Into the System’: Study Highlights Structural Fault Lines in Korea’s Labor Market

Inequality ‘Built Into the System’: Study Highlights Structural Fault Lines in Korea’s Labor Market

SEOUL, Nov. 19 (Korea Bizwire) —  A large majority of South Korean workers say the country’s labor market is fundamentally unequal, reflecting long-standing structural divides between large conglomerates and smaller firms, according to new research presented at a major labor conference in Seoul on Tuesday. The survey, released at the 30th-anniversary forum of the Federation [...]

Most Young Workers Support Raising Retirement Age, Survey Shows

Most Young Workers Support Raising Retirement Age, Survey Shows

SEOUL, Nov. 19 (Korea Bizwire) —  A large majority of South Korean workers in their 20s and 30s say the country should extend the legal retirement age, reflecting deepening economic anxieties and concerns about old-age security, according to a new survey released Wednesday. The poll, conducted by Remember & Company, which operates the professional networking [...]

Employment Gap Widens as College-Educated Youth Drive Surge in Long-Term Unemployment

Employment Gap Widens as College-Educated Youth Drive Surge in Long-Term Unemployment

SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s long-term unemployment has climbed to its highest level in four years, driven largely by a surge in jobless young adults with university degrees, according to new government data released Sunday. The number of people who searched for work for more than six months but failed to secure a [...]

New Study Shows Korean Doctors Average 2,300 Working Hours Annually

New Study Shows Korean Doctors Average 2,300 Working Hours Annually

SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — A new survey has found that South Korean doctors work more than 2,300 hours a year on average, prompting calls from the medical community for more accurate assessments of working conditions before the government determines future medical school quotas. At a conference hosted Wednesday by the Korean Medical Association’s Research [...]

Temple Not Liable for Wages, Court Finds Monk’s Work Was Religious, Not Contractual

Temple Not Liable for Wages, Court Finds Monk’s Work Was Religious, Not Contractual

SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Korea Bizwire) —  A Seoul court has ruled that a Buddhist monk’s daily prayers and care for a temple’s head monk do not constitute “labor” under the law, rejecting his claim for nearly 700 million won (about US$510,000) in back pay and compensation. The Seoul Northern District Court on Sunday dismissed a [...]

Game Developers Condemn Profit-Driven Practices Stifling Creativity

Game Developers Condemn Profit-Driven Practices Stifling Creativity

SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Developers from major South Korean game studios are voicing frustration over management practices that prioritize short-term profits over creativity, arguing that such behavior undermines the industry’s global competitiveness. At a meeting with Vice Culture Minister Kim Young-soo on Thursday, members of the IT division of the Korean Federation of Chemical, [...]

“He Worked 80 Hours a Week”: The Bakery Case Stirring Debate on Labor Practices

“He Worked 80 Hours a Week”: The Bakery Case Stirring Debate on Labor Practices

SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — A controversy over overwork has erupted in South Korea after the death of a young employee at the popular bakery chain London Bagel Museum (known locally as Runbaemyu), with the victim’s family alleging that he worked excessive hours in the weeks leading up to his death. According to the family, [...]

Korea Sees Rise in Unemployment Benefit Fraud, Decline in Voluntary Reporting

Korea Sees Rise in Unemployment Benefit Fraud, Decline in Voluntary Reporting

SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Korea Bizwire) —  South Korea recorded about 23 billion won (US$166 million) in fraudulent unemployment benefit claims so far this year, with the government recovering only two-thirds of the amount, according to parliamentary data released Wednesday. The National Assembly Budget Office said in its 2026 budget analysis that as of August, authorities [...]