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.
Migrant rights activists welcome president's pick for new labor minister
Kim Young-hoon, labor minister nominee, gestures as he takes the driver’s seat of an ITX-Saemaeul train at Gimcheon Station in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, Monday. Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
Kim Young-hoon remembered by former colleague as champion of workers’ rights
Migrant rights activists expressed cautious optimism following President Lee Jae Myung’s nomination of Kim Young-hoon as the next labor minister.
Kim, a former train operator and head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions from 2010 to 2012, would be the first former leader of the influential labor organization to hold the post.
Advocates for foreign workers told The Korea Times on Wednesday that Kim’s tenure as KCTU chairman reflects a strong commitment to the rights of all workers — citizens and noncitizens alike — a stance they hope he will uphold as a Cabinet member.
“As chairman of the KCTU, Kim tried to improve the rights of migrant workers by joining rallies and other activities promoting their rights,” said a leading activist for migrant workers here. “Even after leaving that position, he continued to champion these causes politically as a member of the Justice Party.”
When Seoul Immigration Office issued a deportation order for Michelle Katwir, former chief of the Migrants’ Trade Union, in 2011, the KCTU under Kim strongly denounced the decision. A week later, he took to the street in central Seoul, staging a one-person protest and calling for the order to be revoked. Judges ultimately ruled to cancel the deportation order.
Kim has yet to outline specific policy ideas for managing foreign workers as the potential labor minister. But speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he emphasized his priorities: reducing work hours, extending the legal retirement age (currently at 60) and limiting employers’ ability to file excessive damage claims against workers and unions involved in labor disputes — known as the “yellow envelope law,” a major pro-labor legislative initiative pledged by the Lee administration.
Born in 1968, Kim studied livestock management at Dong-A University in Busan before becoming a train operator for the Korea National Railway — a position he returned to recently after more than 20 years as a labor activist.
Given his long-standing commitment to human rights, migrant worker advocates believe Kim could push for meaningful reforms benefiting foreign workers as well. For years, these activists have called for full freedom for foreign workers to change jobs. Currently, non-Korean workers face restrictions that limit job changes to certain regions and industries and often encounter significant obstacles when trying to leave abusive or unsafe employers.
“This has been one of our key demands. I hope the new labor minister nominee would make positive changes regarding this issue,” an activist said.
Amid growing labor shortages in manufacturing, farming, fishing and many other industries, the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration focused on reforms to allow more foreign workers into Korea.
“While focusing on the number, the previous administration paid less attention to the rights of those workers, who, in many cases, took risky jobs avoided by citizens here,” another activist said. “I hope the labor ministry under the new administration will approach these issues with a more humane perspective.”