🚨 Local Government Labor Inspectors

Today Korean Social News for Beginners | 2025.10.30

0️⃣ Local Delegation of Labor Inspection Authority and Expertise Concerns

📌 Government Reduces Plan for 10,000 Labor Inspectors... Pushes to Create 'Local Government Labor Inspectors'

💬 The government has reduced its plan to expand labor inspectors to 10,000 by 2028, adjusting it to 8,000. Instead, it will delegate some labor inspection authority to local governments and create a new 'local government labor inspector' system. The plan is to hire an additional 3,050 central government labor inspectors and 1,850 new local government inspectors. While this aims to strengthen local autonomy and enhance workplace supervision at the local level, concerns are being raised about declining supervision quality due to lack of specialized personnel and training systems in local governments. In particular, with the possibility that labor inspectors' independent investigation authority may expand due to prosecution reforms, securing investigation expertise has become an important challenge.

💡 Summary

• Local government labor inspectors are a system that transfers some labor inspection authority from the central government to supervise labor law violations at the local level.
• The plan for 10,000 labor inspectors has been reduced to 8,000, and 1,850 local government inspectors will be newly created.
• Concerns about quality decline are being raised due to lack of local government expertise and expanded investigation authority following prosecution reforms.

1️⃣ Definition

Local government labor inspectors are government officials who investigate labor law violations and are responsible for improving working conditions at the local level by transferring some of the central government's labor inspection authority to local governments. Previously, only labor inspectors belonging to the Ministry of Employment and Labor supervised workplaces that violated labor standards law, but now local governments can also appoint their own labor inspectors to supervise workplaces in their areas.

This system aims to strengthen local autonomy and improve administrative efficiency, and is designed to enable quick responses in areas with many small businesses. The key is to build a field-centered supervision system to protect workers' rights and create a safe working environment.

💡 Why is this important?

• It enables quick and close supervision of local workplaces.
• Through strengthened local autonomy, labor administration can be tailored to local characteristics.
• It can increase administrative efficiency by distributing the central government's workload.
• It can be an alternative solution to the shortage of labor inspectors.

2️⃣ Background and Current Status of System Introduction

📕 Severity of Labor Inspector Shortage

• Korea has a severe shortage of labor inspectors. The main situation is as follows:

  • As of 2024, Korea has about 1,600 labor inspectors, which is one inspector per 10,000 workplaces.
  • The ILO (International Labour Organization) recommends one inspector per 10,000 workers, meaning Korea is about three times short.
  • Even compared to major OECD countries, it's significantly low - Germany has about 7,000 and France has about 2,500.
  • After the Serious Accidents Punishment Act was implemented, the workload increased rapidly but personnel increases haven't kept up.

• There are widespread blind spots in labor supervision. The main problems are as follows:

  • Of the approximately 2.5 million workplaces nationwide, less than 5% receive actual supervision annually.
  • Small businesses with fewer than 5 employees are in a protection blind spot as some labor standards laws don't apply to them.
  • In local areas and small cities, there is an even greater shortage of inspector deployment, leading to widespread labor law violations.
  • Even when workers suffer from wage theft, unfair dismissal, or industrial accidents, it's difficult to get timely relief.

📕 Changes in Labor Inspector Expansion Plan

• The original plan to increase to 10,000 has been reduced to 8,000. The main developments are as follows:

  • In 2023, the government announced plans to expand labor inspectors to 10,000 by 2028.
  • However, in the 2025 plan, it was adjusted to a total of 8,000 - 3,050 for central government and 1,850 for local governments.
  • This is explained as a realistic adjustment considering the financial burden and administrative conditions of local governments.
  • Labor groups are criticizing the reduction of the original plan and demanding the establishment of an effective supervision system.

• The local government labor inspector system is being newly introduced. The main contents are as follows:

  • Some labor inspection authority will be delegated to local governments to build a local-level supervision system.
  • A total of 1,850 labor inspectors will be deployed to metropolitan and basic local governments.
  • They will mainly perform supervision tasks focusing on small workplaces and small businesses in the area.
  • Central government labor inspectors plan to focus on large workplaces and important issues such as serious accidents.

💡 Key Issues of Labor Inspector Shortage Problem

1. Staff shortage: Number of inspectors is three times less than ILO recommendations
2. Work overload: Surge in unprocessed cases after the Serious Accidents Punishment Act
3. Regional disparities: Expansion of supervision blind spots in local and small cities
4. Reduction of expansion plan: Adjusted from 10,000 target to 8,000
5. Lack of local government capacity: Insufficient specialized personnel and training systems

3️⃣ Concerns and Improvement Tasks

✅ Need to Secure Expertise and Investigation Capacity

• Local governments lack labor supervision expertise. The main problems are as follows:

  • Most local governments have almost no labor-related specialized personnel.
  • Understanding of complex laws such as Labor Standards Act and Occupational Safety and Health Act is low.
  • There is a high possibility that government officials with no experience in investigating labor cases will be assigned as inspectors.
  • Systematic training programs and field training courses are not yet in place.

• Concerns about quality decline due to expanded investigation authority. The main issues are as follows:

  • If the prosecution's investigation command authority is abolished due to prosecution reform, labor inspectors' independent investigation authority will be strengthened.
  • Previously, the completeness of cases was improved through the prosecution's legal review, but this process may be skipped.
  • If inexperienced local government inspectors handle cases independently, there is a risk of legal defects.
  • It is urgent to strengthen investigation quality control and legal advisory systems.

✅ Tasks for System Settlement

• A systematic training and education system is needed. The main measures are as follows:

  • The Ministry of Employment and Labor should develop standard training courses for local government labor inspectors.
  • Comprehensive training including understanding laws, field investigation techniques, and investigation practice should be provided.
  • Field experience should be passed on through mentoring programs with central government inspectors.
  • Expertise should be continuously improved through regular continuing education and case studies.

• A cooperation system between central and local governments should be established. The main tasks are as follows:

  • Work division between central government and local governments should be clarified to prevent confusion.
  • A system should be established to transfer complex or serious cases to central government inspectors.
  • An information sharing platform should be built to share case handling know-how and precedents.
  • Problems in system operation should be improved through regular councils.

• Efforts to minimize regional differences are needed. The main measures are as follows:

  • Standardized criteria should be established so that there are no differences in inspector expertise and capacity between local governments.
  • Financial support from the central government is needed for local governments with insufficient financial resources.
  • Supervision quality should be regularly evaluated, and concentrated support should be provided to inadequate regions.
  • Workers should be able to receive equal protection regardless of their area of residence.

4️⃣ Related Terms

🔎 Labor Inspector

• Labor inspectors are special judicial police officers who supervise labor law compliance.
  • A labor inspector is a government official appointed by the Minister of Employment and Labor according to Article 101 of the Labor Standards Act, who has the authority to investigate whether workplaces violate labor laws and take measures such as corrective orders, imposing fines, and criminal prosecution. They have the status of special judicial police officers according to the Act on the Performance of Duties by Judicial Police Officers and the Scope of Their Duties.
  • The main duties of labor inspectors include: first, investigating and guiding the actual conditions of working conditions at workplaces. Second, detecting and handling violations of the Labor Standards Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, etc. Third, investigating worker petition cases such as wage theft and unfair dismissal and providing relief. Fourth, investigating the causes of industrial accidents and establishing recurrence prevention measures. Fifth, investigating and referring violations of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.
  • Labor inspectors have strong powers such as the right to enter and investigate workplaces, the right to request documents for review and submission, and the right to interrogate related parties. When violations are found, they can conduct investigations as judicial police officers and refer cases to the prosecution. However, they currently receive investigation instructions from the prosecution and do not have independent authority to close cases.

🔎 Serious Accidents Punishment Act

• The Serious Accidents Punishment Act is a law that strengthens employers' safety and health obligations.
  • The Serious Accidents Punishment Act is a law that requires criminal punishment of business owners or management officials when serious accidents occur at workplaces, and has been in effect since January 2022. While the existing Occupational Safety and Health Act focused on punishing site managers, this law imposes an obligation to establish a safety and health management system on management and punishes them if they don't comply.
  • The scope of serious accidents includes: first, accidents in which one or more deaths occur. Second, accidents in which two or more injured people requiring treatment for more than 6 months occur from the same accident. Third, cases in which three or more people with occupational diseases such as acute poisoning occur within one year due to the same harmful factor. Fourth, serious casualties occurring at public facilities or public transportation used by citizens.
  • After the Serious Accidents Punishment Act was implemented, the workload of labor inspectors increased dramatically. Investigations became mandatory when serious accidents occur, and since management officials must also be investigated, case processing time has lengthened. As of 2024, there are thousands of unprocessed cases, and the average number of cases handled per inspector has significantly increased. As a result, the need to increase labor inspectors has grown even more.

🔎 Prosecution's Investigation Command Authority

• The prosecution's investigation command authority is the power of prosecutors to direct and supervise judicial police.
  • The prosecution's investigation command authority refers to the authority under the Criminal Procedure Act for prosecutors to direct the investigations of judicial police officials and request supplementary investigations. Since labor inspectors are also special judicial police officers, they currently receive investigation instructions from the prosecution, and must undergo the prosecutor's legal review when concluding investigations.
  • In discussions on prosecution reform, proposals are being made to abolish or reduce this investigation command authority. First, there are arguments to strengthen the independence of police and special judicial police investigations. Second, there are opinions that the prosecution should only judge whether to prosecute, and police should lead investigations. Third, the purpose is to eliminate duplicate investigations and increase investigation efficiency.
  • If the investigation command authority is abolished, labor inspectors will be able to independently conclude investigations and refer them to the prosecution or decide not to refer them. While this helps with quick case processing, there are concerns that investigation quality may decline as the legal review process is skipped. In particular, inexperienced local government labor inspectors may make legal judgment errors, so strengthening internal legal advisory systems is essential.

🔎 Decentralization

• Decentralization is a policy of transferring authority from the central government to local governments.
  • Decentralization is a system where the central government transfers its administrative, financial, and legislative authority to local governments so that regions can autonomously decide and execute policies. The purpose is to strengthen democracy through providing administrative services tailored to regional characteristics and expanding resident participation.
  • The main contents of decentralization include: first, transferring central government affairs to local governments. Second, increasing financial autonomy such as expanding local taxes. Third, strengthening the legislative and autonomy powers of local councils. Fourth, building cooperative governance between central and local governments.
  • The local government labor inspector system is being promoted as part of decentralization. However, since each local government has different administrative capacity and financial conditions, a phased and supportive approach is needed rather than uniform transfer of authority. Especially in fields requiring expertise like labor administration, if transferred without sufficient preparation, gaps may occur in protecting citizens' rights, so a careful approach is needed.

5️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: How are local government labor inspectors different from existing labor inspectors?

A: The affiliation and scope of responsibility differ, but legal authority is the same.

• The difference between local government labor inspectors and existing central government labor inspectors mainly lies in affiliation and scope of duties. First, affiliation differs. Existing labor inspectors are national government officials belonging to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, while local government labor inspectors are local government officials belonging to metropolitan or basic local governments. Second, scope differs. Central government inspectors mainly handle large workplaces and important issues such as serious accidents, while local government inspectors focus on small workplaces and small businesses in the area. Third, budget and organization differ. Central government inspectors are operated with national budget, but local government inspectors are operated with local budget.
• However, legal authority and status are the same. As labor inspectors appointed according to the Labor Standards Act, they all have workplace investigation rights, corrective order authority, investigation authority, etc., and their status as special judicial police officers is also the same. However, in actual job performance, quality gaps may occur due to differences in expertise and experience, making training and central-local cooperation systems important.

Q: Why was the labor inspector expansion plan reduced?

A: It is a realistic adjustment considering financial burden and local government administrative capacity.

• There are several reasons why the original plan to increase by 10,000 was reduced to 8,000. First, financial burden. Since the annual personnel and operating costs per labor inspector are substantial, increasing 10,000 in a short period would be a huge financial burden. Especially local governments have a large burden as they must hire inspectors with their own finances. Second, local government unpreparedness. Most local governments lack labor administration experience and specialized personnel. Even if many people are hired in a short period, it may be difficult to properly perform supervision tasks. Third, training infrastructure limitations. There is insufficient educational system and personnel to train newly hired inspectors, so phased expansion is needed.
• The government appears to be adjusting the target considering these realities, while introducing the local government labor inspector system in line with the purpose of decentralization to minimize supervision gaps. However, labor groups are criticizing that the original plan should be implemented for effective supervision, so further expansion discussions are expected to continue depending on the system's operational performance.

Q: How will the local government labor inspector system affect workers?

A: While accessibility increases with local-based supervision, supervision quality is uncertain.

• The local government labor inspector system has both positive and concerning aspects for workers. Positive aspects include: first, accessibility improves. With inspectors deployed locally, filing complaints or getting consultations can become easier. Second, quick response is possible. Problems at small workplaces can be quickly identified and handled. Third, supervision reflecting local characteristics can be implemented. Local governments that know the local industrial structure and employment environment well may be able to conduct more effective supervision.
• Concerning aspects include: first, variation in supervision quality. The same problem may be handled differently due to differences in expertise and capacity between local governments. Second, lack of expertise. Complex labor law violations or serious accident cases may not be properly handled. Third, possibility of local collusion. Fair supervision may be difficult as local governments have close relationships with local business owners. Therefore, workers should actively assert their rights, but for complex or serious issues, it's good to also request help from central government labor inspectors.

View Table of Contents

• Go to Guide