The South Korean government is launching an initiative to improve conditions for non-regular workers, starting with the public sector. Starting next year, a 'fair wage' will be introduced for public sector contract workers employed for less than one year, with higher pay for shorter durations—up to 10% above the average living wage.
The policy aims to prevent employers from circumventing severance pay through fragmented short-term contracts and to position the public sector as a model employer. Currently, nearly half of public institution contract workers are on terms of less than one year. The government will also generally prohibit contracts under one year in the public sector, with a pre-review system for exceptional cases.
President Yoon Suk Yeol has also ordered the creation of new public service jobs in areas with high social impact, such as tax arrears management, industrial accident prevention, and suicide prevention. The focus is on 'necessary jobs' that deliver tangible social benefits rather than merely increasing employment numbers.
The government plans to expand these improvements to the private sector based on public sector outcomes.