A student checks job information on the bulletin board on a university campus in Seoul, March 18. Newsis
Korea’s long‑standing pay‑secrecy culture is facing fresh pressure for transparency, as President Lee Jae Myung backed mandatory salary disclosure in job ads while the labor ministry warned that a rigid rule could shrink hiring.
At a policy forum on March 19, Lee publicly sided with young job seekers frustrated by job postings that list pay only as “according to company rules” or “to be discussed following interview,” saying applicants deserve to know exactly how much their wages will be before they apply. He then instructed Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon to address the issue.
When asked whether the Ministry of Employment and Labor has started drafting a legislation bill to make it mandatory, a senior official said it is proceeding cautiously.
“One of our biggest worries is that a strict mandate could end up shrinking opportunities for job seekers. Companies need to hire people, but if this becomes a burden, they respond by cutting back on job postings. That would be a big problem,” the official told The Korea Times, adding that it is looking for ways to “reflect the president’s direction while avoiding such side effects.”
Public opinion shows strong support for such a policy. A survey conducted by the ministry in 2022 found that “more detailed information in job ads” was the single most popular reform choice, selected by 24 percent of the respondents.
Several bills are already pending at the National Assembly. In one, Rep. Lee Yong-woo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and 17 other lawmakers seek to mandate employers to spell out core working conditions — including wages — in job ads in a bid to stamp out so‑called “blind” postings that reveal almost nothing up front. The latest bill was introduced by Rep. Son Sol of the minor leftwing Progressive Party and 10 others, who said employers should be required to disclose “the components of pay and the calculation method for each item” in job ads to guarantee fair, transparent wage‑setting.
“Failing to specify the core working conditions of an employment contract in a job posting exploits job seekers’ weaker bargaining position by forcing them to sacrifice interview time and other opportunity costs, and reflects an outdated mindset that does not treat their time as something of value,” Lee said in the proposal.
However, rather than drafting a new bill, an official said the ministry is “reviewing how to link and implement” pay transparency provisions under the pending proposals.
Korea’s cautious approach contrasts with a broader global shift toward pay transparency.
Source: Korea Times News
