S. Korea to make underperforming workers fired more easily

South Korea plans to make workers, who underperform markedly compared with fellow workers, fired more easily, while allowing companies to change their regulations on employment with less support from workers.

Labor Minister Lee Ki-Kweon held an emergency press briefing Friday, announcing the government's guidelines on the altered rules on firing "noticeable" underperformers in normal times and the company bylaws on employment, unfavorable to workers, to be changed in an easier way.

The emergency briefing came after the minister's botched plan for negotiations with key labor unions, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Federation of Korea Trade Unions (FKTU) that refused to participate in the proposed negotiations.

The guidelines involve "very exceptional" cases of dismissal in normal times of employees who show markedly low performance and become a burden to fellow workers.

The government expected the dismissal to happen very exceptionally, but labor unions expressed fears for a wave of job losses, flexible labor market conditions and the loss of job security.

The guidelines also allow companies to change bylaws on employment though the change is not in favor of the employees. Under the current law, companies should first receive support from over half of workers when altering such regulations unfavorable to them.

Minister Lee told reporters that the guidelines mean neither easier dismissals nor unilateral wage cuts, saying that it will change the seniority-based wage system into the performance-based one and help reduce unemployment of the younger generation.