Mandatory retirement pension bill set for 2026

Feb 24, 2026, 07:26 am

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Rep. Han Jeong-ae, policy chief of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon attend a party-government meeting on labor policy at the National Assembly on Feb. 23. / Yonhap

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the government agreed on Feb. 23 to complete legislation this year aimed at structural reforms, including making retirement pension plans mandatory for all workplaces.

Rep. Han Jeong-ae, the DPK’s policy chief, said during a party-government meeting with the Ministry of Employment and Labor at the National Assembly that “labor, management and government have reached a historic joint declaration to strengthen the retirement pension system,” adding, “We will prepare and pass a revision bill within this year.”

Earlier, on Feb. 6, a tripartite task force on strengthening retirement pension functions announced a joint declaration calling for mandatory adoption of retirement pension plans at all workplaces, to be implemented in phases depending on company size and conditions.

Han urged the government to design tailored support measures based on fact-finding surveys so that small business owners would not face sudden financial burdens due to changes in the retirement pension system.

In response, Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said, “We will develop concrete measures to ensure that the core spirit of the joint declaration leads to meaningful institutional improvements, and we will work closely with the party.”

The meeting also discussed follow-up measures for the so-called Yellow Envelope Act — a revision to the Trade Union Act — set to take effect on March 10.

Kim described the amended law as “a dialogue-promotion and gap-narrowing law that breaks the vicious cycle of massive damage claims and extreme labor disputes that effectively criminalized dialogue.” He added that the ministry is preparing clear standards for determining employer status and defining the scope of collective bargaining, along with a joint response framework with relevant ministries to ensure the revised law establishes a predictable legal order.

#Democratic Party of Korea #Han Jeong-ae #Kim Young-hoon #Ministry of Employment and Labor #retirement pension