Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Labor, gov’t launch consultative body as concerns rise over AI replacing human workers
A wheeled AI industrial humanoid robot is on display at Foxconn's annual tech conference in Taipei, Nov. 21, 2025. Reuters-Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
Powerful umbrella union calls for ‘human-centered’ approach
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a powerful umbrella labor organization with more than 1 million members, launched a joint consultative body with the government on Wednesday to address rising anxiety over artificial intelligence (AI) and rapid industrial change in workplaces.
As the Ministry of Employment and Labor and other government departments prepare for sweeping changes that new technologies are expected to bring across industries, including robotics and AI-powered production systems, the labor union called for a “human-centered” approach to the transition.
The ministry and KCTU formally inaugurated a high-level operational consultative body, under which representatives of both sides will meet monthly to discuss and seek agreement on key labor issues. The ministry set up a similar structure with another major labor union, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, on Monday, and also plans to do so with the Korea Enterprises Federation on Feb. 24.
At the launch ceremony, KCTU Vice President Lee Yang-soo urged the government to play a more active role in protecting workers amid industrial transformation and the rise of AI.
“Korean workers are now confronting new challenges, not only from changes in the broader environment but also from industrial restructuring and the rise of AI, which are reshaping both employment and how work is organized,” Lee said. “The government should take on institutional responsibilities that go beyond the level of individual enterprises.”
In response, Vice Labor Minister Kwon Chang-jun said this is the first structured channel for regular policy discussions between the government and KCTU, and that the consultative body will be used to gather on‑the‑ground input from workers and reflect it in policies on AI, industrial transformation and other issues.
The meeting comes amid growing unease over AI adoption displacing human workers. Last month, Hyundai Motor announced plans to mass-produce Atlas humanoid robots at its new U.S. plant by 2028 and gradually deploy them across its assembly lines. The company is promoting the project as the cornerstone of its “physical AI” future, in which AI-controlled machines work alongside or in place of humans to handle risky or monotonous tasks.
KCTU made it clear that one of its main priorities will be protecting human labor from AI-driven automation.
“In this time of major transition, whether these developments become a disaster that forces insecurity and sacrifice onto workers or an opportunity to improve quality of life will largely depend on the government’s choices and policy direction,” the organization said in a statement. “At the center of this transition, people, not profit, have to come first. Industrial transformation and technological progress that push basic rights to the margins will only intensify inequality and polarization.”
The previous day, the leaders of the two labor unions met to discuss pressing labor issues and vowed to cooperate in responding to AI and other challenges.
According to data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the number of employed people last month was about 27,986,000, an increase of 108,000 compared with the same month in 2025. By industry, however, employment in professional and scientific technical services fell sharply — by a whopping 98,000, the largest decrease since the current industry classification system was introduced in 2013.
A ministry official said the deployment of AI could be one of the factors slowing the hiring of new employees in this sector.