Labor Practices in South Korea
Instructions: Read the case study and provide a report for the executive team that summarizes the current labor practices in South Korea. Ensure that you discuss specific advantages and disadvantages regarding the existing labor practices in South Korea. Be sure to follow APA guidelines and write your paper in the proper format (not as question and answer).
Solution
Labor Practices in South Korea
Introduction
South Korea’s labor and employment laws are based on historical and cultural perspectives within the country. South Korean labor practices are classified in accordance with the enactment that was drafted resulting to the end of the Korean War. However, some of the Korean laws have its foundations included in the Japanese labor laws, which were forehand stipulated by the German labor laws (Hyun, Flemer, R. R., & Chang, 2014). The current labor practices in South Korea were designed to cater for its changes to a democratic state in between 1980-1990s. At such a time South Korea’s labor laws turned to be more organized and diplomatically active (Chun, 2011). Furthermore, South Korean labor laws are still changing from time to time. This paper will discuss advantage and disadvantages of the current South Korea’s labor practices.
First, it is evident that the Korean labor market is substantially more inelastic as compared to the U.S labor markets. Korean Labor Standards and Trade Union in association with the Labor and Adjustment Act indicate criminal authorizations for particular offenses, hence, their flexibility in relation to US labor laws. This phenomenon is evident from a basic philosophical dissimilarity regarding the Korea’s employment coined by Article 32 of its constitution, which supersedes Korean workers the right to employment (Hyun, Flemer, R. R., & Chang, 2014). The citizens of the country majorly anticipate the Korean Government’s responsibility to develop employment and protect its workers. As they plan to acquire a market in South Korea, Chapman Auto Parts manufacturers must consider such openness in the Korean labor practices which are entirely different from what they used to in the US.
Additionally, outside the public employee workplaces, South Korean determines its worker’s wages through a conventional approach that integrates the Hobong Model, where pay scales are dependent on the employee’s job title and the and period of service (Chun, 2011). Alternatively, US workers use an approach centered on a wage structure reliant on the merit of the employee. Even the Korean model is being replaced one might come across it at well-established premises with many workers.
Conclusively, Chapman Auto Parts manufacturers must keep an open mind and modify their
organizational expectations that include
a normal labor practice which is the fundament for their move to establish a firm in
South Korea. Nevertheless, as a contemporary issue, The US labor laws are
slightly similar to Korean labor and employment laws in many aspects. Chapman
Auto Parts manufacturers must keep this
in mind to help them adjust to any differences in setting up their firm
abroad.
References
Chun, J. J. (2011). Organizing at the margins: The Symbolic Politics of Labor in South Korea and the United States. Ithaca, New York, United States of America: Cornell University Press.
Hyun, C. W., Flemer, R. R., K., & Chang. (2014, July 5). Where US And Korean Labor Laws Divide. Retrieved August 4, 2016, from Law360: http://www.law360.com/articles/540739/where-us-and-korean-labor-laws-divide