Korea moves to extend labor protections to 8.6 mil. freelancers, platform workers

A delivery worker navigates a motorcycle through a residential neighborhood in Seoul, carrying food orders to local residents, April 3, 2024. Newsis

Freelancers, platform workers and others long excluded from labor protections will gain new rights under sweeping changes expected to be passed by May 1.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced a legislative package Tuesday that introduces a “presumption of worker status” and enacting a new Basic Rights of Working People Act, aiming to close legal loopholes that have left at least 5.7 million, and possibly up to 8.6 million people, without basic labor rights.

Under the proposed system, anyone who provides labor for another person’s business will be presumed a worker in civil disputes. The burden of proof will shift from workers to employers, who must prove that a claimant is not an employee. The change is expected to make it easier for contract and gig workers, including delivery riders and subcontracted professionals, to claim unpaid wages, severance or minimum wage protections.

Once enacted, the system will reverse the current structure that forces workers to prove their own status as employees, a hurdle that has disadvantaged freelancers and special employment workers. If employers cannot rebut the presumption, those workers will be recognized as employees eligible for minimum wage, severance pay and social status.

The package would also grant labor inspectors stronger authority to demand employment records, working-hour logs and tax data from companies during investigations. Employers who refuse to submit documentation without valid reason could face fines up to 5 million won. Regional labor offices will also be able to form expert advisory panels to increase the accuracy of worker-status assessments.

Complementing the policy, the Basic Rights of Working People Act would define “working people” as anyone who provides labor in exchange for compensation, whether or not they are formally classified as employees. The law enumerates eight rights, including safe working conditions, fair treatment, adequate pay and access to social security benefits regardless of contract type.

But legal experts point out a notable exception: The presumption of employment would apply only in civil disputes, not criminal cases. That means in criminal matters, such as harassment charges, the state would still have to prove wrongdoing under the principle of "innocent until proven guilty."

Labor advocates were critical, calling the package a “half-measure.”

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions said that by failing to broaden the legal definition of a “worker” in the Labor Standards Act, the reform would offer only limited relief during disputes rather than a fundamental guarantee of rights on the job.

“The idea of extending protections to all workers is meaningful,” the federation said in a statement. “But the rule must apply more broadly across labor relations, not only after disputes arise.”

Yoon Ji-young, an attorney with the advocacy group Workplace Gapjil 119, called the measures insufficient.

“These problems persist largely because existing labor laws are poorly enforced,” she said. “Without concrete employer obligations or penalties, the law may end up symbolic.”