Seongdong-gu Achieves Legalization of 'Essential Workers' Ordinance Less Than a Year After Enactment

National Assembly Passed the 'Essential Workers Protection Act' on the 29th of Last Month... 'Essential Workers Ordinance' Becomes the First Local Government Ordinance to Be Legislated... Seongdong-gu Introduced the Nation's First 'Essential Workers Ordinance' in September Last Year... Expanded to 59 Local Governments Nationwide

In October last year, Jung Won-oh, the mayor of Seongdong-gu, held a video conference on essential workers with President Moon Jae-in.

At the time, Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, visited Seongdong-gu and promised to legislate support for essential workers.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) has seen the 'Essential Workers Protection Act,' which originated from the 'Essential Workers Ordinance'?the first of its kind nationwide?enacted by the National Assembly plenary session on the 29th of last month.

This marks the first time a local government ordinance has been legislated into law, with Seongdong-gu's 'Essential Workers Ordinance' leading the way.

Previously, in 2015, Seongdong-gu was the first in the nation to focus on the issue of gentrification, creating related ordinances that led to amendments in the Commercial Lease Protection Act. Last year, the mobile electronic entry log system devised by Seongdong-gu for COVID-19 prevention was expanded nationwide, demonstrating a series of pioneering and innovative policies.

With the Essential Workers Protection Act passing the National Assembly, it is regarded as another example of how leading policies initiated by local governments have been extended to the central government.

The 'Act on the Designation of Essential Work and the Protection and Support of Workers Engaged Therein' (hereinafter referred to as the Essential Workers Protection Act), approved by 227 out of 249 members present at the plenary session on the 29th of last month, defines essential work as tasks necessary to protect citizens' lives and maintain social functions during disasters, establishing a system to protect and support workers engaged in such work.

The foundation of the approved Essential Workers Protection Act is Seongdong-gu's 'Ordinance on the Protection and Support of Essential Workers,' enacted and promulgated last year.

In September of last year, amid the COVID-19 crisis, Seongdong-gu designated workers who risk infection to perform face-to-face duties essential to maintaining normal social functions as 'essential workers,' and implemented various support and protection policies, including four rounds of providing quarantine supplies, flu vaccines, and psychological counseling support through April this year.

Seongdong-gu also launched the 'Thank You, Essential Workers' campaign to express respect and gratitude toward essential workers and raise awareness, drawing participation from over 400 local government heads and institutional leaders nationwide, including Yeom Tae-young, Mayor of Suwon; Song Ha-jin, Governor of Jeonbuk Province; and Hwang Myung-seon, Mayor of Nonsan.

Moreover, the campaign attracted participation from global diplomatic figures such as Jeffrey Jones, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, known as the 'Blue-eyed Korean'; Robert Rapson, Acting U.S. Ambassador to Korea; Maria Castillo Fernandez, Ambassador of the European Union to Korea; Catherine Rayper, Australian Ambassador to Korea; and Philip Turner, New Zealand Ambassador to Korea.

As these efforts gained social consensus, Seongdong-gu's essential worker support policies spread nationwide.

President Moon Jae-in emphasized the need for government-level support policies for essential workers during a Cabinet meeting and, in October of the same year, held a video conference with care workers designated as essential workers, stating, "Seongdong-gu Office has set an example by creating the nation's first essential workers ordinance. I ask other local governments to join in."

At the same time, Lee Nak-yon, then leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, visited Seongdong-gu and pledged to legislate support for essential workers.

Consequently, in October of last year, the government formed an inter-ministerial task force to improve working conditions for essential workers, and Democratic Party lawmakers Kim Young-bae, Min Hyung-bae, Song Ok-joo, Lee Hae-sik, and Lim Jong-sung proposed bills to protect and support essential workers. As of April this year, 59 local governments at the basic and metropolitan levels nationwide have proposed ordinances to support and protect essential workers.

With the enactment of this law, ongoing essential worker support and protection policies are expected to gain momentum. Seongdong-gu plans to continue leading efforts to discover various support projects and improve working conditions through institutional reforms.

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu and head of the Local Government Promotion Team within the Democratic Party's Essential Workers Task Force, said, "The enactment of the Essential Workers Protection Act less than a year after Seongdong-gu enacted and implemented its ordinance signifies a shift in societal recognition of essential workers who have quietly maintained social functions during the COVID-19 crisis." He added, "If Seongdong-gu's essential worker support and protection policies and the 'Thank You, Essential Workers' campaign have contributed even a little, I am grateful."

He continued, "Now, the entire society must join to ensure essential workers receive the respect and treatment they deserve. Having been the first to raise the issue of essential workers in our society, Seongdong-gu will do its utmost to discuss and implement more practical and effective support and protection policies in line with the legislation."

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