Recent trends and developments in labour inspections under the new administration

At a glance

• President Lee Jae-myung’s administration plans to increase the number of labour inspectors, rebrand them as 'labour police', and grant judicial authority to local officials to strengthen enforcement.
• From mid-2025, inspections will increasingly align with government labour policies, focusing on issues like unpaid wages, non-regular worker discrimination, and misclassification of workers, with potential for unannounced inspections at high-risk sites.
• The Ministry of Employment and Labour is using anonymous reports to guide inspections, signalling a more aggressive and frequent inspection regime, prompting businesses to conduct internal audits to ensure compliance.

This article has been reproduced with the permission of the authors Weon Jung Kim, Ki Young Kim, Paul Cho, Beom-Kon Cho, Jung-Lae Lee and Hoin Lee at Kim & Chang.

Since his presidential campaign, President Lee Jae-myung has emphasised the need for compliance with labour and safety standards in the workplace, advocating for an increase in the number of labour inspectors and relabelling them as 'labour police'. As the implementation plans under the new administration are now taking shape, we outline below the key developments and discuss the expected trends regarding labour inspections.

Key stance on labour inspections

The new administration is discussing the following key initiatives: (1) increasing the number of labour inspectors from the current headcount of 3,000 to 10,000 by 2028; (2) granting special judicial police authority for labour-related matters to local government officials; and (3) changing the official title of labour inspectors to 'labour police'. These initiatives all point toward strengthening the enforcement authority of labour inspections, and it is likely the new administration will actively use labour inspections to ensure the successful implementation of its labour policies.

In this regard, President Lee has directly instructed the Ministry of Employment and Labour (MOEL) to expand the labour inspector workforce. Minister of Employment and Labour Kim Young-hoon stated, “labour inspections are paramount to providing robust protection for the vulnerable in a segmented labour market,” while Vice Minister of Employment and Labour Kwon Chang-joon remarked, “we will reform the labour inspection system to resolve issues in the workplace,” underscoring the administration’s strong commitment to reinforcing labour inspections.

Expected trends in labour inspections

Labour inspections in the first half of 2025 proceeded as planned in accordance with the annual workplace labour inspection plan. However, a shift is expected in the second half of 2025, with inspections expected to be conducted in a way that aligns more closely with the new administration’s labour policies. Accordingly, we anticipate an increase in targeted inspections related to the government’s key policy areas throughout the latter half of the year.

A key driver of this shift is the MOEL’s recent launch of an anonymous reporting centre for labour rights violations. The centre primarily focuses on issues such as unpaid wages, misuse of the comprehensive wage system, unreasonable discrimination against non-regular workers, and violations of work-family balance assistance regulations, including parental leave. The MOEL plans to use the reports gathered from this centre as a basis for conducting intensive targeted inspections throughout the second half of the year.

Further, the new administration has repeatedly stated its position to prohibit the misclassification of de facto employees as non-employees. Accordingly, it is possible that targeted inspections will be conducted throughout the second half of 2025, focusing on workplaces that engage a large number of contingent workers, such as freelancers.

Regarding the methods of inspection, President Lee recently commented on industrial safety accidents, stating, “we must be able to conduct unannounced inspections of high-risk workplaces.” This suggests the possibility of 'surprise inspections' being conducted in a manner different from past practices.

Finally, with the proposed increase in the number of labour inspectors, inspections are likely to become more frequent and intensified. Therefore, it is crucial for businesses to closely monitor these developments and respond accordingly as well as undertaking internal labour and employment audits at this time to minimise the risk of being found non-compliant.