[2025 Audit] Kim Younghoon: "Protecting Lives and Safety Is the Top Priority... Focus on Preventing Industrial Accidents"

National Assembly Audit of the Ministry of Employment and Labor Held on the 15th
Ministry Announces Tailored Support for Each Stage of Life
Measures Include Yellow Envelope Act and Wage Arrears Eradication
"Phased Extension of Retirement Age for All Generations"

On the 15th, Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Younghoon stated, "We will create workplaces that are safe for everyone," emphasizing, "Protecting the lives and safety of the people is the state's top responsibility." He reiterated the government's commitment to preventing industrial accidents.

In his opening remarks at the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment, and Employment Committee audit of the Ministry of Employment and Labor that day, Minister Kim said, "We will focus the government's full capabilities on preventing industrial accidents, centering on the Industrial Safety and Health Headquarters, which was elevated to vice-ministerial level in October this year." He added, "We will thoroughly implement the comprehensive labor safety measures to fundamentally address the root causes of industrial accidents and transform the system so that safety benefits everyone."

Kim Younghoon, Minister of Employment and Labor, is taking an oath at the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Employment and Labor Committee's audit of the Ministry of Employment and Labor held on the 15th.

Previously, on September 15, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced comprehensive labor safety measures. These measures include imposing fines of up to 5% of operating profit on workplaces where three or more fatalities occur annually, including serious accidents, and pursuing the deregistration of construction companies where fatal accidents recur. Minister Kim also said, "We will support workers' prompt recovery by drastically shortening the period for processing industrial accident cases."

Revitalizing the labor market is also a key task. Minister Kim stated, "We will strengthen the social safety net for all workers by restructuring employment insurance to be income-based," adding, "We will significantly expand vocational training to cover understanding, utilizing, and developing artificial intelligence (AI) in line with technological changes."

He continued, "We will strengthen tailored support for each stage of life," and explained, "With the Youth Job First Step Guarantee Program, we will support every young person's first step by encouraging job-seeking motivation, providing practical employment support, and creating sensible workplaces." He also said, "By creating conditions for parents to share caregiving responsibilities and actually use related policies, we will promote work-family balance for working parents and establish an environment where middle-aged and older workers can work as long as they wish."

To create workplaces that foster mutual growth without disparities, the ministry will work to ensure the effective implementation of the Yellow Envelope Act (the amendment to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act), which is scheduled to take effect in March next year. Minister Kim mentioned, "The amended Trade Union Act is a law for closing gaps, real growth, and preventing serious accidents. We will gather input from both labor and management to prepare guidelines that enhance predictability and ensure the law is implemented as intended in workplaces."

Minister Kim also said, "Through the wage arrears eradication measures announced last month, we will do our utmost to prevent unfair situations where people work but do not receive their wages." He added, "We will establish the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, expand industry-level bargaining, and promote win-win cooperation models between contractors and subcontractors to reduce disparities in the labor market." He also indicated that the expansion of the Labor Standards Act to cover small businesses with fewer than five employees is under consideration.

In responding to the future labor market, the government is planning to promote the extension of the retirement age, actual reduction of working hours, gradual mandatory introduction of retirement pensions, and diversification of management methods. Minister Kim explained, "To meet the continuing work demand of the 9.5 million baby boomers and restore our economy's growth potential, we will pursue a phased extension of the retirement age through social dialogue."

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