Employment relations in the Republic of Korea

Abstract

[Extract] The Republic of (South) Korea (hereafter Korea) has a population of around 48 million; almost 80 per cent is urban, up from 30 per cent in 1962. This compares with urbanisation rates of almost 100 per cent in Hong Kong and Singapore and 58 per cent in Taiwan, the other Asian newly industrialised economies (NIEs) often compared with Korea. Ethnically homogeneous, about half of Koreans are Buddhist, although there is a substantial and significant Christian presence; all have inherited Confucian values. The labour force is about 22 million, with a participation rate of 64 per cent (77 per cent for men and 52 per cent for women).

Unemployment was not much above 2 per cent before Korea was hit severely by a major financial crisis in late 1997, so that it peaked at 8.5 per cent in February 1999. Since then it has dropped to below 4 per cent as the economy has begun to recover. Nevertheless, weekly working hours remained the longest for any country reported by the International Labour Office (lLO), and the employment of foreign workers has continued to increase, as it has in other Asian NIEs.