On 6 March 2024, South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) announced significant amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA Enforcement Act).
The amendments, effective 15 March 2024, introduce new rights for data subjects, stricter requirements for Chief Privacy Officers (CPOs), and enhanced obligations for data processors regarding overseas transfers and liability insurance.
On 12 March 2024, the PIPC published guidelines for the PIPA Enforcement Decree amendments.
These changes aim to strengthen data protection and ensure that companies processing personal data adhere to higher standards of transparency and accountability.
South Korean construction management firm HanmiGlobal announced a new welfare policy which entails additional incentives for all workers expecting a child.
The company’s policy is aimed to boost Korean fertility rate, which is the world lowest since 2013.
On 14 November 2022, ILO published a report on the transition of enterprises, considering them not only in terms of how goods and services are produced but also as a workplace.
The report highlights how to help enterprises and workplaces become green and productive in environmentally sustainable ways, identifying s a range of measures and giving workers a role in the process.
It shows that the greening of workplaces is an increasingly important element of the greening of enterprises.
On 23 June 2022, the Ministry of Employment and Labour released a series of proposals to the working hour and the wage system in South Korea, aiming to give to give employers and workers more flexibility post-covid.
Among the proposed measures there is a plan to increase the period for calculating overtime under a so-called flexible working hours system.
Employment law amendment cover minimum wage, working hours, protections for employees against wrongful disciplinary actions, new penalties for failure to adequately handle workplace harassment, new claim procedure and remedies for gender-discrimination and sexual-harassment claims, use of childcare leave during pregnancy and right to request working-hours adjustment during pregnancy.
These measures will go into effect later in 2021 and 2022.