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Job seekers fill out resumes at the "2026 Busan Youth Mega Job Fair" held at Exhibition Center 2 of BEXCO in Haeundae District, Busan, on the 21st. / Yonhap News

Job advertisements offering wages substantially higher than standard market rates or carrying misleading claims will be screened for false or exaggerated content prior to publication. In urgent cases where deceptive ads risk inflicting grave harm on job seekers, authorities will also be empowered to issue immediate correction, suspension, or takedown orders via telephone or verbal notice.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that revisions to the Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the Employment Security Act will be placed on public notice from the 22nd to November 2. The measure lays out specific procedures and delegated provisions under the amended Employment Security Act slated to take effect on December 10.

Under the revisions, employment information service providers must verify job advertisements suspected of being false or exaggerated before publishing or revising them. Verification will rely on materials retained by operators or information readily accessible through standard commercial practices.

Targeted for pre-publication screening are advertisements proposing wages notably exceeding typical levels in comparable occupations, as well as postings with descriptions likely to mislead job seekers under accepted social norms. Listings posted by employers who received corrective orders regarding false recruitment ads within the preceding six months, or whose ads showed probable false or exaggerated elements upon complaint review, will also face pre-screening.

Ads already published must be monitored whenever reasonable grounds arise to suspect false or exaggerated claims. If monitoring and review yield reasonable cause to deem a listing fraudulent or inflated, service providers may request modifications from the recruiter, suspend publication, or delete the posting based on the severity of the violation.

Procedures for government corrective orders will also be clarified. In principle, orders demanding modifications, publication halts, or removals of deceptive ads must be issued in writing, specifying relevant details and grounds. However, if urgent action is required due to concerns that job seekers could suffer substantial injury, authorities may issue orders verbally or over the telephone first, followed promptly by formal written notification.

Jurisdiction over corrective orders and inter-agency notifications will be divided by business type. Regulatory authority over job information services, fee-charging overseas employment placement services, and labor supply services will be delegated to heads of employment security agencies, while domestic free and fee-charging placement services will fall under the heads of local governments.

A framework will also be established for ex officio cancellation of business registrations for operators that have closed down without formal notification. If competent reporting and registration authorities confirm closure by reviewing tax office filings, termination of lease agreements, and whether job information platforms remain active, they will issue advance notice and publish a public announcement for at least 14 days before proceeding. Administrative penalty criteria will also be adjusted, allowing authorities to issue a warning rather than a business suspension for a first-time, minor regulatory infraction.

Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon remarked, "Deceptive recruitment advertisements exploiting the desperation of job seekers must be thoroughly eradicated. This system is designed to provide dual protection for job seekers by filtering out suspected false or exaggerated listings before publication and swiftly taking down fraudulent ads that have already been posted."

                                                                                                           Kim Nam-hyung