Nominations accepted from Thursday through July 10; 41 awards to be presented in December

Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon speaks at a ceremony honoring outstanding labor inspectors and a handwriting relay event for the biography of Jeon Tae-il on May 29. [Ministry of Employment and Labor]
Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon speaks at a ceremony honoring outstanding labor inspectors and a handwriting relay event for the biography of Jeon Tae-il on May 29. [Ministry of Employment and Labor]

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced Tuesday it will accept nominations for its 2026 Government Awards for Labor-Management Culture from Thursday through July 10.

The awards recognize workers' representatives, employers and others who have advanced cooperative labor-management relations and a culture of respect for labor through dialogue and collaboration. The program has been in place since 2008, and 834 people had received the honor through last year.

This year, the ministry plans to select 41 recipients who have contributed to fostering labor-management cooperation, creating quality jobs and building workplaces free of discrimination. The awards include four orders of merit, four commendation medals, nine presidential citations, nine prime ministerial citations and 15 ministerial citations.

Eligible nominees include workers' representatives and employers at the workplace level, as well as individuals who have contributed more broadly to the development of labor-management relations.

Workers' representatives and employers must have played a leading role — through labor-management cooperation — in areas such as quality job creation, building discrimination-free workplaces, work-life balance and employment stability. Eligible nominees include union heads and employee representatives on labor-management councils.

Those recognized for broader contributions to labor-management development must have made meaningful contributions through academic research, media or cultural activities.

Minimum service requirements vary by award level: 15 years for orders of merit, 10 years for commendation medals, five years for presidential and prime ministerial citations, and one year for ministerial citations.

Candidates will be evaluated on a 100-point scale, with merit content accounting for 90 points and length of service for 10. Key criteria include labor-management cooperation (40 points), efforts to create quality jobs (20 points), elimination of discrimination (20 points) and community service activities (10 points).

Nominations must be submitted to the labor-management cooperation support division or the labor standards investigation division of the relevant regional employment and labor office. Candidates will then go through a disqualification screening, public verification and a merit review committee before final selections are made. The awards ceremony is scheduled for December.

"We hope that unsung contributors on the ground who have helped spread a culture of labor-management cooperation and establish a culture of respect for labor will be actively nominated," a ministry official said.


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