First Agenda of Labor Reform Special Committee: 'Fair Hiring'... "Strengthening Sanctions to Punishment Level"

"Strengthening Penalty Levels from Current Fines
Grounds for Cancellation of Hiring upon Conviction of Fraudulent Recruitment"

The People Power Party's Special Committee on Labor Reform has brought up "eradication of hiring corruption," emphasized by President Yoon Seok-yeol, as its first agenda item. The labor special committee decided to push for amendments to the "Fair Hiring Act" to strengthen penalties for fraudulent hiring practices.

On the 2nd, the labor special committee members received their appointment letters and held their first meeting at the National Assembly to discuss these issues. Assembly member Im Eui-ja, the floor leader of the Environment and Labor Committee, was appointed as the chairperson, with Park Dae-su as vice-chairperson and Kim Hyung-dong as secretary. The labor special committee was established under the party to support labor reform, one of the three major reform tasks of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, presenting tasks such as creating quality jobs, establishing a fair wage system, and revitalizing employment to modernize the labor market.

The special committee selected "eradication of hiring corruption" as its first task. If strict responses to illegal and unfair acts by labor and management were "Season 1" of the Yoon administration's labor reform, then ending hiring corruption, including employment inheritance, is "Season 2," according to the committee. Chairperson Im said, "President Yoon stated at the Cabinet meeting on the 18th that employment inheritance is an unfair vested interest succession that violates the spirit of our Constitution and deprives future generations of opportunities," adding, "We intend to amend the (Hiring Procedures Act) in a direction that can establish a fair and transparent hiring order in our society."

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, is taking a commemorative photo with the appointed committee members at the appointment ceremony and the first meeting of the Special Committee on Labor Reform held at the National Assembly on the 2nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The ruling party views the current Hiring Procedures Act as a "slap on the wrist" and has decided to strengthen penalties through amendments to the Fair Hiring Act. Assembly member Im explained, "The current Hiring Procedures Act, implemented in January 2015, imposes only light penalties such as fines for hiring solicitations and coercion. The means to ensure fairness were insufficient," adding, "Especially since hiring corruption is currently regulated under the criminal offense of obstruction of business, there are limits that prevent punishing clear corrupt acts."

First, the amendment will specifically define prohibited acts such as coercion in hiring to eradicate privileges and unfair advantages like "parental chances." Im said, "We will strengthen sanctions for coercion in hiring transactions, which currently only result in fines under the law, to criminal penalties."

The amendment will also include grounds for canceling hiring if a conviction for fraudulent hiring is confirmed. It will prohibit requesting excessive personal information without justifiable reasons, such as asking about parents' occupations during interviews.

To eradicate practices where job postings for regular positions are later changed, the amendment will require notification of the reasons and details of any changes to the hiring announcement. Im added, "We will improve the opaque hiring practices and increase transparency in the hiring process by requiring job postings to specifically present working conditions and job details, such as wages desired by job seekers."

Provisions for protecting internal whistleblowers and assigning special judicial police officers to exclusively enforce labor inspection laws are expected to be included in the Fair Hiring Act amendments. Im said, "We have set the legislative direction (at today's meeting), and the Environment and Labor Committee members will draft the bill," adding, "Once the bill is drafted, we hope to announce it at party meetings and adopt it as the party's official stance."

The labor special committee announced that it will address labor reform tasks through field visits and generational and class-based roundtable discussions going forward.

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