Recently Passed Bills
- Bill
- [Summary] Amendment to the Act on the Employment, Etc. of Foreign Workers
- PROPOSED BY
- Chair of Environment and Labor Committee
- PROPOSITION DATE
- 2021-03-18
- COMMITTEE
- Environment and Labor Committee
- RESOLUTION DATE OF PLENARY SESSION
- 2021-03-24
- EFFECTIVE DATE
- six months after promulgation
- Bill
- [Summary] Amendment to the Act on the Employment, Etc. of Foreign Workers
- PROPOSED BY
- Chair of Environment and Labor Committee
- PROPOSITION DATE
- 2021-03-18
- COMMITTEE
- Environment and Labor Committee
- RESOLUTION DATE OF PLENARY SESSION
- 2021-03-24
- EFFECTIVE DATE
- six months after promulgation
(This unofficial English-language translation is intended for reference purposes only.)
<Purpose of the Alternative Bill>
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign workers are unable to depart from the Republic of Korea even when their employment period has expired, nor re-enter Korea due to the entry ban. Therefore, companies that employ foreign workers are facing difficulties in securing the necessary workforce.
Against this backdrop, this alternative bill is proposed to resolve small-and medium-sized companies’ workforce shortages through the efficient management of foreign workers, by extending the employment period of foreign workers by up to one year, in view of the difficulty of their entry and departure due to COVID-19, by reducing the restricted period for re-entry for employment purposes if the employer has applied for their employment permit before the expiration of their extended employment period, as well as by expanding the application of the foregoing, etc.
In addition, the alternative bill is intended to provide greater protection of foreign workers’ human rights by requiring that employees who obtain an employment permit for a foreign worker for the first time receive education on laws and regulations pertaining to labor relations and human rights, etc., and applying administrative fines for related violations.
<Key Contents of the Alternative Bill>
A. Employers who obtain permission to employ foreign workers for the first time are required to receive education on laws and regulations pertaining to labor relations and human rights, etc., whereby an employer’s failure to comply shall be punishable by an administrative fine not to exceed KRW 5 million (Article 11-2 and Article 32 Paragraph 1 Sub-Paragraph 2-2 newly added in the Alternative Bill).
B. Mining shall be added as an industry to which special cases for the employment permit is applied (Article 12 Paragraph 1-2 Sub-Paragraph 2 of the Alternative Bill).
C. Upon deliberation and resolution by the Policy Committee, the period of employment may be further extended by up to one year if it is determined that foreign workers’ entry into or departure from the Republic of Korea is difficult due to reasons such as spread of an infectious disease, occurrence of a natural disaster, etc. (Article 18-2 of the Alternative Bill).
D. The application of special cases is extended by reducing the restricted employment period for foreign workers after their re-entry following expiry of the extended employment period, from three months to one month, and by easing the requirements in cases where the place of business is changed for a reason not attributable to the foreign worker (Article 18-4 of the Alternative Bill).
<Purpose of the Alternative Bill>
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign workers are unable to depart from the Republic of Korea even when their employment period has expired, nor re-enter Korea due to the entry ban. Therefore, companies that employ foreign workers are facing difficulties in securing the necessary workforce.
Against this backdrop, this alternative bill is proposed to resolve small-and medium-sized companies’ workforce shortages through the efficient management of foreign workers, by extending the employment period of foreign workers by up to one year, in view of the difficulty of their entry and departure due to COVID-19, by reducing the restricted period for re-entry for employment purposes if the employer has applied for their employment permit before the expiration of their extended employment period, as well as by expanding the application of the foregoing, etc.
In addition, the alternative bill is intended to provide greater protection of foreign workers’ human rights by requiring that employees who obtain an employment permit for a foreign worker for the first time receive education on laws and regulations pertaining to labor relations and human rights, etc., and applying administrative fines for related violations.
<Key Contents of the Alternative Bill>
A. Employers who obtain permission to employ foreign workers for the first time are required to receive education on laws and regulations pertaining to labor relations and human rights, etc., whereby an employer’s failure to comply shall be punishable by an administrative fine not to exceed KRW 5 million (Article 11-2 and Article 32 Paragraph 1 Sub-Paragraph 2-2 newly added in the Alternative Bill).
B. Mining shall be added as an industry to which special cases for the employment permit is applied (Article 12 Paragraph 1-2 Sub-Paragraph 2 of the Alternative Bill).
C. Upon deliberation and resolution by the Policy Committee, the period of employment may be further extended by up to one year if it is determined that foreign workers’ entry into or departure from the Republic of Korea is difficult due to reasons such as spread of an infectious disease, occurrence of a natural disaster, etc. (Article 18-2 of the Alternative Bill).
D. The application of special cases is extended by reducing the restricted employment period for foreign workers after their re-entry following expiry of the extended employment period, from three months to one month, and by easing the requirements in cases where the place of business is changed for a reason not attributable to the foreign worker (Article 18-4 of the Alternative Bill).
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