South Korea told that labour laws need to improve
- Claire Lee
- Topics: Employment Law, Home Page - News, News, Recruitment, Restructuring, South Korea
The Federation of Korean Industries (KFI), a non-profit organisation in South Korea, has called for improvement in the nation’s labour laws.
Comparing employment regulations in South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan, it found that South Korea was less flexible in terms of working hours.
“Overtime work cannot exceed 12 hours a week in South Korea whereas it is unlimited in the United States, controlled on a monthly or yearly basis in Japan, and controlled on a yearly basis in France,” KFI said in a report, reported Business Korea.
In South Korea, the practice of hiring employees through an employment service agency is acceptable within 32 sectors, and such employment durations cannot exceed two years, however this is unlimited in the United Kingdom and United States, KFI noted.
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“When labour-related duties are violated, South Korean employers face both pecuniary penalty and imprisonment whereas the latter is not applied in the United States, Japan, Germany, France and the United Kingdom”, KFI highlighted in the report.
South Korea’s laws and regulations need to be improved to become closer to global standards, KFI added.
