Resumption of Tripartite Social Dialogue... Agreement to Regularize Bi-monthly Meetings

Separate Committees for Industrial Transition to Be Formed
Youth Committees by Demographic to Launch Soon

Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo, Chairman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions Kim Dong-myung, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation Son Kyung-sik, and Chairman of the Economic, Social and Labor Council Kwon Ki-seop (from left) are posing for a commemorative photo on the 4th at the tripartite representative meeting held at the Economic, Social and Labor Council in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

Representatives of labor, management, and government gathered in one place and agreed to regularize social dialogue every two months to address urgent labor issues such as working hours reform and resolving unfair disparities.

According to the Economic, Social and Labor Council (ESLC), a social dialogue body under the President, a tripartite representative meeting was held on the morning of the 4th at the ESLC's main conference room in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The meeting was attended by Kwon Ki-seop, Chairman of the ESLC, Kim Moon-soo, Minister of Employment and Labor, Kim Dong-myeong, Chairman of the Korean Federation of Trade Unions (KFTU), and Sohn Kyung-shik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation (KEF). This tripartite representative meeting was the first in 10 months since December last year and the first since Minister Kim and Chairman Kwon took office last month.

During the one-hour meeting, the representatives reviewed the ongoing social dialogue in three committees: the Special Committee for Sustainable Jobs and Future Generations, the Work-Life Balance Committee, and the Continuous Employment Committee responding to demographic changes, and discussed future operational directions.

Chairman Kwon Ki-seop said, "Tripartite dialogue has been an important key to overcoming crises, and in this meeting, meaningful changes must be made based on trust and compromise," adding, "The social dialogue restored in February this year needs to move to the next stage."

Minister Kim Moon-soo emphasized, "Labor reform is a mission of the times," urging labor, management, and government to unite efforts to protect vulnerable workers, create jobs desired by youth, and build a society where work and family coexist. He said, "Even in the issue of applying the Labor Standards Act to workplaces with fewer than five employees, which has not progressed for the past 35 years, tripartite cooperation is needed to make at least some progress."

Chairman Kim Dong-myeong said, "Although the deadlines for discussions in the three committees are set, we should not be strictly bound by them. We should quickly finalize what can be settled and propose alternatives for issues with significant differences, showing mutual responsibility."

Regarding the National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik's proposal for National Assembly-led social dialogue, Chairman Kim said, "We believe that a multilayered social dialogue system should become more active," but added, "However, social dialogue initiated by the National Assembly is a complement to the ESLC discussions, not a substitute."

Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik said, "Social dialogue for future generations should enhance labor market flexibility and invigorate the economy to create quality jobs for youth," emphasizing the need to reform the wage system to be job- and performance-based and increase flexibility in working hours management.

On the 4th, at the tripartite representatives meeting held at the Economic, Social and Labor Council, a social dialogue body under the direct control of the President in Seoul, Kwon Ki-seop, Chairman of the Economic, Social and Labor Council (left), is delivering a greeting. The tripartite representatives meeting is the first in about 10 months since the confidential meeting held on December 14 last year, ahead of the full-scale resumption of social dialogue, and the first since Minister Kim Moon-soo and Chairman Kwon Ki-seop took office last month. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

At the meeting, the representatives agreed that for the Future Generations Special Committee, a separate committee by agenda and industry would be formed for industrial transition topics, and the special committee could be extended by three months if necessary to specify detailed agendas such as disparity resolution. Regarding industrial transition, a research group on 'Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Labor' involving labor, management, and government will also be established.

A separate committee will also be formed to discuss platform labor issues. Additionally, the Work-Life Balance Committee will prioritize discussions on improving working methods to allow workers and companies to flexibly choose and utilize working hours and support work-childcare balance. Working hours reform will be publicized through tripartite field meetings and forums.

Agendas discussed by the Continuous Employment Committee, such as wage system reform following retirement age extension, will undergo public discussion processes like forums aligned with the national pension reform debate, followed by focused discussions to derive results.

Furthermore, the ESLC will regularize tripartite representative meetings every two months but will meet additionally if necessary, and a youth subcommittee to gather opinions from future generations will be launched soon.

After the meeting, Chairman Kwon said in a briefing, "There was a consensus among labor, management, and government to make creating good jobs for future generations the top priority," adding, "It is important to lead agreements even at the level of 'small deals.' Regarding continuous employment, I think we should reach at least a basic agreement by the first quarter of next year."

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