As we go in―
The Starting Point of the Labor Standards Act: Whether a Person is a Worker 9

PART 01
Changes in Employment Contracts and Employment Relations 13

CHAPTER 01 Employment Contract 14
CHAPTER 02 (Transitional) Labor Relations and Changes 35

PART 02
Wages and Severance Pay 47

CHAPTER 01 Wages 48
CHAPTER 02 Average Wage 67
CHAPTER 03 Normal Wage 76
CHAPTER 04 Severance Pay 92
CHAPTER 05 Retirement Pensions 105

PART 03
Working Hours and Rest 117

CHAPTER 01 Working Hours 118
CHAPTER 02 Overtime, Night, and Holiday Work 127
CHAPTER 03 Break Time 140
CHAPTER 04 Holidays and Weekends 145
CHAPTER 05 Annual Paid Leave 153

PART 04
Termination of employment relationship 171

CHAPTER 01 Termination of Employment Relationship 172
CHAPTER 02 Dismissal, etc. 179
CHAPTER 03 Dismissal Notice (Allowance) 184

PART 05
Women and Boys 191

CHAPTER 01 Female Workers 192
CHAPTER 02 Young Workers 203

PART 06
Workplace Bullying 209

PART 07
[Special Part] Construction Day Laborer 223

PART 08
[Practice] Wage Arrears Complaint 233

CHAPTER 01 Major Types of Reported Cases (Article 33 of the Labor Inspectorate Regulations) 234
CHAPTER 02 How to Report a Complaint, etc. 235

CHAPTER 03 Jurisdiction over Reported Cases (Article 35 of the Labor Inspectorate Regulations) 236
CHAPTER 04 Processing Period 238
CHAPTER 05 Wage Arrears Complaint Process 239
CHAPTER 06 FAQs About Calmness 240

Appendix—
Article 253 of the Labor Standards Act, applicable to businesses (places) employing four or fewer regular workers

Preface to the Second Edition

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for your support since its publication, which has allowed me to publish a revised edition in less than a year.
While organizing the approximately 7,700 labor law consultations I received from the Ministry of Labor between 2023 and 2025 for this book, I pondered the word "labor."
'Work' means 'to move', and 'work' means 'to move the body', and refers to the act of a person putting in physical and mental effort to obtain the necessities of life.
Meeting countless business owners and workers has made me realize that work is a tool that allows me to be myself and an important means of self-realization.
That's why I worked on this book with the hope that readers' workplaces would become happy spaces where they respect each other while complying with relevant laws.

In particular, this book reflects the revised standards for determining regular wages based on recent case law and the revised contents of the three childcare laws.
And we have added new practical examples by reconstructing them into case studies.
This will be useful for gaining a sense of practical case studies.
We plan to add more important cases in the future.

I would like to thank attorneys Kwon Hyuk-bin and Kang Min-kyung, and supervisor Song Hae-teum, for their assistance with this revision.
And to the authors of the Labor Inspector's Practical Notes, Manager Chang Jeong-su, and labor attorneys Oh Se-ryeong, Yang Hye-in, and Kim Yu-bin, who have given me their unstinting support, and to Yoon Min-a, Lim Myeong-ju, Shim Eun-hye, Kim Hyeon-gyeong, and Kim Hyeon-jeong, who were more excited than anyone about the first edition, and to the Incheon Labor Rights Center family who are starting a new beginning with me, and to teachers Lee Su-jin, Jeong Seon-gyun, and Kim Yu-mi, who still give me positive energy with their passionate lectures! I'm embarrassed, but I want to express my gratitude.

June 2025
Cho Hak-hee's dream