The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) will issue related guidelines within this month to reduce labor-management conflicts stemming from "operating profit n% performance bonuses."
The ministry said this at a second-half business briefing held at the state guest house at the Blue House on the 4th, noting it would improve unreasonable employment and labor practices that create gaps. The guidelines will also address whether workers can treat not only performance bonuses but also corporations' investments as subjects of labor disputes. The move follows the recent statement by the Samsung Group supra-enterprise union that it would make Samsung Electronics' investment in the Honam semiconductor cluster an agenda item during next year's wage collective bargaining.
The ministry also said it would revise the Employment Insurance Act by the end of the year so that young people under 35 who voluntarily change jobs can receive job-seeking benefits. Job-seeking benefits are currently available only for involuntary resignation, but the intent is to support those who voluntarily resign to move to a better job. The level of job-seeking benefits under discussion is 60% of pre-separation wages, with a monthly cap of 1 million won.
The ministry also said it would push to extend the mandatory retirement age. Its goal is to legislate a "generation-coexisting retirement age extension" so that increasing the retirement age does not dampen youth employment. It will also pursue measures in parallel to expand headcount at public institutions for youth jobs and to strengthen the effectiveness of the youth employment quota system.
By the end of the year, it will establish the K-Labor Welfare Chamber and institutionalize retirement credits for nonstandard workers such as those in special employment and on platforms. Minister Kim Young-hoon said, "We will focus on expanding the foundation so that everyone who works, including providers of labor who were in the protection blind spot, can be protected."