S. Korea “Fair allowance” to be introduced

South Korean Minister of Employment and Labor announced that the government will introduce 'fair allowance' system to provide higher compensation for workers in unstable, short-term jobs. In 2021, when the current president, Lee Jae Myung, was serving as the governor of Gyeonggi-do Province, the provincial government introduced the so-called fair allowance for the first time in the nation.

If the fair allowance is expanded to the private sector as well, businesses may have to shoulder a greater financial burden, and changing the wage structure in the private sector would require amendments to the Labor Standards Act. The minister also said that a conclusion on the extension of the mandatory retirement age should be reached within the first half of the year, preferably through a compromise between labor and management.