Gyeonggi Province's 'Labor Inspector' to Launch in December, Managing 530,000 Workplaces

Ahead of the December launch of Gyeonggi Province's labor inspectors who will oversee workplaces with fewer than 30 employees in the province, Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Province Council have begun consultations.

Chang Tae-hwan, Chair of the Economic and Labor Committee of the Gyeonggi Province Council (Democratic Party, Uiwang District 2), received a briefing on the 18th from Kim Do-hyung, Director of the Gyeonggi Province Labor Bureau, regarding personnel recruitment and operational plans for local labor inspectors, and discussed the organizational and personnel management preparations and establishment of field inspection systems in preparation for the implementation of the system.

In preparation for the implementation of the 'Labor Inspector Execution of Duties Act' in December, Gyeonggi Province plans to incrementally expand its local labor inspector personnel and organizational structure.

First, 170 personnel will be hired in the second half of this year, followed by additional recruitment to secure a total of 562 local labor inspectors by 2028.

Accordingly, the province will also establish an operational system to secure expertise of new personnel and effectively respond to regional inspection demands. For personnel hired in the second half of 2026, the province plans to conduct job training from the Ministry of Employment and Labor and field inspections before deploying them to the field, and gradually expand hub offices considering regional industrial characteristics and workplace distribution.

In particular, the province is reviewing measures to deploy personnel focusing on areas with high labor inspection demand, such as industrial complexes and densely populated small business areas.

Workplaces with fewer than 30 employees in the province, the main management targets of local labor inspectors, number approximately 530,000, accounting for approximately 96% of all workplaces. Accordingly, there is a need to efficiently operate limited inspection personnel while establishing a field-oriented inspection system capable of preventing violations of labor relations laws and industrial accidents beforehand, rather than focusing on post-facto punishment.

Chang Tae-hwan, Chair of the Economic and Labor Committee of the Gyeonggi Province Council, emphasized: "It is important for Gyeonggi Province, where diverse labor environments coexist including manufacturing, construction, logistics, and workplaces employing foreign workers, to establish an inspection system that reflects the characteristics of each industry," and "we must establish a field-oriented inspection system connected with existing projects such as labor safety keepers and village labor attorneys, leading to worker rights protection and industrial accident prevention."