amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act, expanding the
application of the Labor Standards Act to small businesses of less than five employees;
thirdly, to identify the bad practice known as "ggeokgi (meaning "breaking, or snapping")
against teenage workers, in which employers arbitrarily count working hours as unpaid
break hours, and draw up measures to eliminate this practice; fourthly, to amend Article 17
of the Regulations on Duties of Labor Inspectors to tighten labor inspections in protecting
teenagers from poor working conditions, such as enforcing workplace inspections without
prior notice and to make concrete improvements to the content of labor inspection checklist
for workplace; fifthly, to provide and implement education on the labor laws and education
on the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace of teenage workers under the
Regulations on Duties of Labor Inspectors; sixthly, to publish and distribute materials
featuring labor-related laws and measures to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
The Commission also recommended to the Minister for Education, Science and
Technology to adopt education on labor and human rights, including basic labor rights,
rights to safety and health, and gender equality in employment as compulsory curriculums
of middle and high schools.
3) Opinion on Partial Amendment to the Framework Act on the Construction
Industry
On March 25, 2010, the Commission submitted its opinion to the Speaker of the
National Assembly that a partial amendment bill to the Framework Act on the
Construction Industry was not necessary. The Commission is of the opinion that the
proposed amendment would allow builders with certain qualifications to directly hire
workers, which does not comply with the purpose of abolishing the construction
participants system aimed at preventing the transfer of responsibility to those unable to
cope with the employer's responsibility. If the amendment bill allowing subcontracting to
unregistered builders is enforced, it is highly likely to exacerbate the issue of overdue
Chapter 1. Improvement of Laws, Regulations, Policies and Practices
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