In 2018 there were major reforms to South Korean employment laws, including (but not limited to) the Labour Standards Act. This resulted in many employers struggling to adjust employees' weekly working hours to comply with, for example, the new 52-hour limit. In 2019 the legislative reforms and amendments proposed in 2018 have taken effect. This article highlights two major changes in the employment law landscape for 2019.

Duty to prevent workplace harassment

Employers will soon be required to prevent workplace harassment (effective 16 July 2019). In this regard, 'workplace harassment' has been defined as acts inflicting physical or mental distress on, or creating a hostile work environment for, co-workers through the use (or abuse) of one's position or relationship in the workplace.

Before the amendment, there were no provisions in place to prevent workplace harassment. However, the amendment (effective 16 July 2019) will introduce:

  • a duty to investigate – employers will be required to investigate promptly on learning of or receiving a complaint on workplace harassment;
  • a duty to take protective measures – during the investigation, employers must take appropriate protective measures (eg, work location change or mandatory paid leave) to protect victims (both alleged and actual);
  • a duty to take remedial measures – on confirming workplace harassment allegations, employers will be required to take remedial measures (eg, work location change or job reassignment) on the victim's request;
  • a duty to take disciplinary measures – on confirming workplace harassment allegations, employers will be required to take necessary disciplinary measures against the alleged perpetrator(s). Further, employers will be required to hear the victim's opinion before undertaking any disciplinary measure; and
  • a prohibition on secondary harm – employers may not inflict any unfair disadvantages against the victim or complainant in connection with the incident.

Notably, the amended Labour Standards Act mandates employers to develop and incorporate anti-bullying policy terms into their rules of employment alongside the measures that will be taken when workplace harassment occurs. In the wake of the additional compliance requirement, employers are strongly advised to review and update their rules of employment and file the amended rules with the Ministry of Employment and Labour by 16 July 2019, when the new law takes effect. The amended standard applies to acts of workplace harassment that occur after the effective date of the amendment.

Uniform standard for termination notice exemptions

The Labour Standards Act provides statutory exemptions from the termination notice requirement (ie, 30 days' notice or payment in lieu thereof) under limited circumstances. Before the amendment, the statutory exemptions varied depending on the forms of employment and the duration of employment. Under the amended Labour Standards Act, the law now contains a uniform standard which must be applied to employment contracts executed after 15 January 2019.

Before the amendment, the termination notice requirement did not apply to the following employees:

  • daily-hire employees with fewer than three months of service time;
  • fixed-term employees with fewer than two months of employment term;
  • monthly wage employees with fewer than six months of service time (declared unconstitutional in December 2015);
  • employees hired for seasonal work with employment term of fewer than six months; and
  • employees on a probationary period.

After the amendment, employers may be exempt from the termination notice requirement where the employee's continuous service time is fewer than three months.

For further information on this topic please contact Sang Hoon Lee or William Woojong Kim at Lee & Ko by telephone (+82 2 772 4000) or email ([email protected] or [email protected]). The Lee & Ko website can be accessed at www.lawleeko.com.