Korea's five mandatory workplace training duties vary by industry and size

Korean HR guides often talk about the "five statutory mandatory trainings" (5대 법정 의무교육). They are not one list in one law. Five laws set them, each with its own scope, method and fine, so whether your company needs all five depends on its industry and headcount. This guide is for HR staff and founders of companies in Korea.

Five trainings under five different laws

• Occupational safety and health training: Article 29 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (산업안전보건법)
• Workplace sexual harassment prevention training: Article 13 of the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act (남녀고용평등법)
• Workplace disability awareness training: Article 5-2 of the Act on the Employment Promotion and Vocational Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (장애인고용촉진법)
• Retirement pension member training: Article 32(2) of the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act (근로자퇴직급여 보장법)
• Personal data protection training: Article 28(2) of the Personal Information Protection Act (개인정보 보호법)

In the table, "headcount" means the number of workers ordinarily employed (상시 근로자).

Safety and health training: check Annex 1 first

Annex 1 of the Enforcement Decree of the Occupational Safety and Health Act lists "businesses to which part of the Act does not apply". For the industries in item 2, the industry alone switches off Article 29 (except the additional training in paragraph 3) and Article 30, so regular training and training at hiring do not apply. Item 2 covers:

• software development and supply
• computer programming, system integration and management
• video and audio content provision services
• information services
• finance and insurance
• other professional services
• architectural technology, engineering and other scientific and technical services
• other professional, scientific and technical services (except photo processing)
• business support services
• social welfare services

Item 3 adds a headcount condition. Industries such as agriculture, fishing, retail (except motor vehicles), real estate (except real estate management), research and development, and arts, sports and leisure services drop the same provisions only when the headcount is under 50. Item 6 applies to every industry: a workplace with a headcount under 5 is exempt from all of Chapter 3 (except the additional training in Article 29(3)).

The test uses the Korean Standard Industrial Classification (표준산업분류), not the name a company gives its own business. Check the business type and item (업태·종목) on the business registration certificate (사업자등록증) and the industry code reported when enrolling in employment insurance (고용보험).

If Annex 1 does not cover your company, office workers need at least 6 hours every half-year. Workers directly engaged in sales also need 6 hours every half-year, and other workers 12 hours. Because the period is a half-year, not a year, second-half training must be finished before December 31. The fine is charged per worker who should have been trained, so it grows with headcount.

Sexual harassment prevention: the 10-employee line

Article 3 of the Enforcement Decree requires training at least once a year, covering four topics:

• the laws on workplace sexual harassment
• the workplace's handling procedure and action standards when harassment occurs
• grievance counselling and remedy procedures for victims
• other matters needed for prevention

Staff training sessions, morning assemblies, meetings and online training all count. Only handing out materials or posting a notice on a bulletin board does not (proviso to paragraph 3 of the same article). There are two exceptions. A business with a headcount under 10, or one where the employer and all workers are of one sex, may post or hand out materials that cover the four topics (paragraph 4). Article 13(2) of the Act requires the employer to attend the training too. Not posting the training content at all times where workers can read it is also subject to a fine (Article 39(3), item 1-3).

Disability awareness: the 50-employee line

Article 5-2 of the Enforcement Decree requires training once a year, for at least 1 hour. The duty to employ disabled people under Article 28 of the Act applies to employers with a headcount of 50 or more. An employer below 50 may therefore distribute or post training materials published by the Ministry of Employment and Labor (고용노동부), or send them by email (Article 5-2(6) of the Enforcement Decree). Training records must be kept for 3 years, and failing to keep them also carries a fine of up to ₩3 million (Article 86(2), item 2 of the Act). An employer with a headcount of 300 or more that trains in-house must use an instructor who meets the qualification standards.

Retirement pension training: posting covers the common part

Only companies that have set up a defined benefit (확정급여형, DB) or defined contribution (확정기여형, DC) plan are covered. Article 32-2 of the Enforcement Decree splits the methods three ways:

• Matters common to all plans: posting materials at all times on the company intranet or similar is enough. The first training after the plan starts must be sent, held in person or held online.
• DB matters: posting at all times, or sending, in person or online.
• DC matters: sending, in person or online only (posting is not allowed).

You can outsource the training to the retirement pension provider (퇴직연금사업자) or a qualified specialist institution. The ₩10 million fine cap is the highest of the five, so if you outsource, get a record of the results. For filing the pension plan rules, see Retirement pension plan rules filing.

Personal data training: a duty with no set frequency

Article 28(2) of the Personal Information Protection Act only requires "necessary training regularly" for staff who handle personal data (개인정보취급자). The Act sets no frequency or hours, and the fine list in Article 75 does not include this paragraph. The "once a year" common in practice comes from internal management plans or from clients' audit demands. If a client's checklist for its processors asks for training records, follow that standard. See Answering a client's privacy audit request.

Checklist: before December

1. Confirm your industry under the Korean Standard Industrial Classification and decide whether item 2 or item 3 of Annex 1 applies.
2. Compare your headcount with each threshold: 5, 10, 50 and 300.
3. If regular safety and health training applies, complete the second-half 6 hours before December 31.
4. Complete the annual sexual harassment prevention training and post its content in the workplace at all times.
5. Put the disability awareness training records in a folder kept for 3 years.
6. Ask your retirement pension operations management institution (운용관리기관) whether this year's member training has been done.
7. Match the list of personal data handlers with their training completion records.