Labor-management-government talks on mega special zone to begin as early as next week

Vice minister-level preparatory meeting held Friday; working-level session to follow soon

Both major union federations and business groups to participate after scheduling coordination

President Lee Jae Myung meets with Federation of Korean Trade Unions Chairman Kim Dong-myung and Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Chairman Yang Kyung-soo for tea at Cheong Wa Dae on Sept. 3. The three discussed the "three mega projects" initiative and the issue of extending the mandatory retirement age. From left: FKTU Chairman Kim Dong-myung, President Lee Jae Myung, KCTU Chairman Yang Kyung-soo. [Cheong Wa Dae]

Tripartite labor-management-government talks on labor exemptions under a proposed mega special zone law are set to begin as early as next week. Key agenda items include exempting high-income research and development workers from the 52-hour workweek cap and extending the maximum employment period for fixed-term workers.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, however, has demanded that talks start from a "zero-base" — with no preconditions favoring the introduction of labor exemptions. The KCTU also insists that labor-side issues such as a four-and-a-half-day workweek and restrictions on the use of non-regular workers be placed on the agenda, raising the prospect of friction over the scope of discussions from the very first session.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the government held a preparatory meeting Friday for what it is tentatively calling "one-point social dialogue on the mega special zone bill." Deputy-level representatives from the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the KCTU attended, along with vice-president-level officials from the Korea Enterprises Federation and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the business side. The government was represented by vice minister-level officials from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, as well as a standing commissioner from the Economic, Social and Labor Council.

"Friday's meeting was a vice minister-level session that got the social dialogue process started," a ministry official said. "We plan to hold a working-level director-general meeting soon and move into full-scale social dialogue."

Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon briefs reporters at Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday on a proposal for social dialogue related to the mega special zone bill, which includes exempting research workers in the zones from the 52-hour workweek limit and expanding the range of jobs eligible for dispatch work. [Yonhap]

Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon publicly proposed the current round of social dialogue on Tuesday. Kim described labor exemptions as a core element of the mega special zone bill and said stakeholders must find solutions themselves to strengthen industrial competitiveness and create quality jobs.

The move follows a request by President Lee Jae Myung, who met with the heads of both major union federations on Sept. 3 and asked them to seek solutions to labor issues through social dialogue. With the FKTU already on board, the KCTU voted to join the talks at its central executive committee meeting on Thursday, completing the basic framework for tripartite consultations.

The tentatively named mega special zone bill, which the government and the ruling party are pushing to pass into law by year's end, would provide companies in the "five poles, three special zones" regional clusters with fiscal and financial support, infrastructure assistance, and labor regulation exemptions to drive economic growth and foster strategic industries.

Among the labor exemptions under discussion, the most prominent is a "white-collar exemption" that would exclude R&D professionals earning above a certain income threshold from the 52-hour workweek rule. Also under consideration are a "2+2" scheme to extend the maximum employment period for fixed-term workers from the current two years to up to four years, an expansion of industries eligible for dispatch work within the zones, and a proposal to extend the settlement period for flexible working-hour arrangements from one month to six months.

Labor groups drew a clear line, however, saying their participation in the dialogue does not mean acceptance of the proposed labor exemptions.

The KCTU has said the agenda should not be fixed in advance around deregulation of working hours and non-regular employment, and that the starting point of the discussions must be reset entirely. The FKTU has similarly said it will join talks on balanced regional development and industrial competitiveness, but that participation does not imply endorsement of the labor exemptions. Both federations are calling for the dialogue to cover the full scope of the mega special zone initiative — including quality job creation and conditions related to education and housing — not just the labor exemptions.

Business groups are expected to participate in the talks and push for deregulation of working hours and employment rules. Some in the business community, however, have expressed frustration that the government is leaving a matter unlikely to be easily resolved between labor and management to the social dialogue process rather than setting policy direction itself. There are also calls to apply uniform exemptions across all nationally strategic industries — including semiconductors — rather than varying the rules by region.

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