Gyeonggi-do to Revamp 'Village Labor Attorneys' Operation... 96 Currently Active

[Asia Economy (Uijeongbu) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province is significantly reforming the 'Village Labor Attorney' system to eliminate blind spots in labor rights and establish a dense protection network.

The Village Labor Attorney system appoints certified local labor attorneys to provide free legal assistance to vulnerable workers in the province who have suffered labor rights violations such as wage arrears and unfair dismissal but could not receive help due to information limitations or economic reasons.

Currently, 96 Village Labor Attorneys appointed by the Governor of Gyeonggi Province are active in 31 cities and counties within the province.

On the 23rd, Gyeonggi Province announced that it has adjusted the eligibility criteria for Village Labor Attorney support from the previous 'monthly income below 2.7 million KRW' to 'monthly income below 3 million KRW' to allow more workers to receive assistance from Village Labor Attorneys.

Additionally, the maximum number of consultations per Village Labor Attorney has been expanded from 30 to 40 cases annually, and the previous principle of 'verification first, consultation later' has been changed to 'consultation first, verification later' to ensure more proactive activities by Village Labor Attorneys.

Previously, complainants had to be assigned to local labor attorneys through a prior application process, but now residents can directly visit local Village Labor Attorneys for consultations without such procedures.

Furthermore, based on demand surveys, Village Labor Attorneys will be dispatched to key locations such as administrative welfare centers in each city and county, regional consultation offices of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, and rest areas for mobile workers, enabling residents to receive legal assistance more conveniently and nearby.

The province plans to strengthen collaboration with city and county 'Support Centers for Non-regular Workers' for more in-depth consultations and legal assistance, and will continue to support consulting services for small business owners with fewer than 10 employees.

Especially as face-to-face consultations have become somewhat difficult due to the recent spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the province plans to activate non-face-to-face consultations using the Labor Rights Center consultation phone (☎031-8030-4541) and the online portal (labor.gg.go.kr).

Since its implementation in June 2017, a total of 9,406 labor consultations have been conducted to support legal assistance and consulting for small business owners.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.