Korea Labor Foundation holds 'Workplace Innovation Leaders Club' with 29 firms

Companies call for greater support in shifting worker mindsets after consulting ends

Discussions also cover responses to changes in ordinary wages and comprehensive wage system

The Korea Labor Foundation at its new home on Chungjeong-ro in Seodaemun-gu [Korea Labor Foundation]
The Korea Labor Foundation at its new home on Chungjeong-ro in Seodaemun-gu [Korea Labor Foundation]

Companies that received workplace innovation consulting say that after drawing up improvement plans, they need more support — and a shift in worker mindsets — to embed those changes on the ground. The firms said the consulting had been highly effective in laying the groundwork for new systems.

The Korea Labor Foundation held its "2026 Workplace Innovation Leaders Club" event Friday at HJ Business Center in Gwanghwamun, Seoul. Forty-two representatives from 29 companies — including Zetema and Nubo — that participated in the foundation's workplace innovation consulting program this year attended the event.

In a pre-event survey, participating companies reported high satisfaction with the consulting. They cited situation assessments and data-driven solutions as the most helpful aspects. At the same time, they said getting newly established systems to take root on the shop floor requires more effort to change worker perceptions and additional support during the implementation phase.

Companies also shared views on how the consulting is structured. Several noted that because the diagnostic phase is counted within the overall project period, the time left for designing solutions feels tight. Participants discussed how to allocate more time across the three stages — diagnosis, design and implementation. Topics also included ways to encourage worker participation in surveys, demand for follow-up support, training and practical materials after consulting ends, and the right timing for linking in government support programs.

Firms that had completed consulting described how they applied new systems on the ground — through task forces, briefing sessions and pilot runs — and the difficulties they encountered along the way. Companies still in the consulting process used those accounts as a reference for preparing to roll out their own systems.

In the afternoon, Yoon Jeong-to, deputy head of Nomun Law Firm Jongno and a certified labor attorney, led an interactive lecture on ordinary wages and the comprehensive wage system. Yoon outlined the connections among wage structures, recent court rulings on ordinary wages and regulatory changes related to the comprehensive wage system, and walked participants through the key points companies need to verify.

Korea Labor Foundation Secretary General Park Jong-pil said the workplace innovation consulting program is "a process of identifying a company's challenges together, developing improvement plans suited to its circumstances, and helping those plans take hold on the ground." He added that he hoped "the experiences and practical knowledge shared at this Leaders Club will help each company reduce trial and error."

Park also said the foundation would incorporate feedback from the field into its consulting operations and follow-up support, with the aim of delivering consulting that continues to help companies advance workplace innovation next year.


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