The "Basic Act on the Rights of Working People" (Workplace Basic Act), which aims to protect the rights of approximately 8.7 million non-standard workers including freelancers, specially-employed workers, and platform workers, is likely to gain momentum for legislation. The issue of recognizing worker status for those outside existing labor laws has emerged as a focal point following the recent death of a Cargo Truckers' Solidarity member at a CU logistics center in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province. Kim Young-hoon, Minister of Employment and Labor, said on a radio program Tuesday, "Even if formally classified as self-employed, those in economically dependent relationships can be considered workers."
The Workplace Basic Act is the Lee Jae-myung administration's top-priority labor bill. It stipulates that constitutional basic rights must be guaranteed for all workers regardless of employment type, but as a declarative framework law, its enforcement power is weak. Accordingly, the government plans to push the "worker presumption system" as a package bill. Under the worker presumption system, even those without a formal labor contract would be presumed to be workers if it is confirmed that they provided labor. In disputes, employers would bear obligations under the Labor Standards Act unless they can present grounds to rebut this presumption.
If non-standard workers are recognized as regular workers, they will be subject to all provisions of the Labor Standards Act, including the minimum wage, 52-hour workweek, severance pay, weekly holiday allowances, and the four major insurance schemes. For businesses, this amounts to adding insult to injury. With pro-labor legislation such as the Yellow Envelope Act already in effect, the additional introduction of the Workplace Basic Act and the worker presumption system will clearly plunge industrial sites into surging labor costs and a flood of lawsuits. The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises has pushed back, arguing that the measure "treats people as workers regardless of the actual contract and shifts the burden of rebuttal onto small business owners with limited resources."
Industrial transformation driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics adoption calls for various forms of labor flexibility. The government must thoroughly consider labor contracts and systems that fit the times in order to protect vulnerable workers. Above all, caution is needed in pushing legislation that further rigidifies the employment market when Korea's level of labor flexibility already falls short of global standards. Policymakers must keep in mind that legislation pushed through solely under the banner of worker protection, while ignoring the characteristics of different industries and business sizes, will inevitably come back as a boomerang in the form of shrinking corporate investment and fewer new jobs.
