Weekly Contributions

Scope of Duties and Areas of Practice for Labor Attorneys(As of August 2026)

Bongsoo Jung (Labor Attorney, KangNam Labor Law Firm)

 

I. Introduction

The Certified Public Labor Attorney Act was enacted on December 31, 1984 and took effect on July 1, 1985, and the first Certified Public Labor Attorney qualification examination was administered in 1986. The cumulative number of final successful candidates through the 34th examination in 2025 is 7,078. The 35th examination is being administered in 2026; the minimum number of successful candidates for the second-stage examination is 370, and that examination was held on August 29 and 30, 2026.

Article 1 of the current Certified Public Labor Attorney Act states that the purpose of the system is to facilitate the smooth operation of labor and social-insurance-related affairs, promote autonomous labor management in businesses and workplaces, improve workers' welfare, and contribute to the sound development of enterprises. The practical scope of labor attorneys has expanded beyond traditional matters involving wages, dismissal, and labor unions to include investigations of workplace harassment and sexual harassment, discrimination involving non-regular workers, industrial accidents, social insurance, advice concerning serious industrial accidents, restructuring, and HR-system consulting. This article summarizes the statutory scope of duties and the principal areas of practice as of August 2026 and considers areas in which the profession may further expand.

 

II. Statutory Scope of Duties

 

1. Duties of Labor Attorneys under Labor-Related and Social-Insurance-Related Laws

Under Article 2(1) of the Certified Public Labor Attorney Act, a labor attorney may perform the following duties:

(1) Acting for or representing a client in notifications, applications, reports, statements, claims (including objections, requests for examination, and administrative appeals), remedies for infringement of rights, and similar matters before the relevant authorities under labor-related statutes;

(2) Preparing and verifying documents under labor-related statutes;

(3) Providing consultation and guidance concerning labor-related statutes and labor management;

(4) Conducting labor-management diagnoses for businesses or workplaces to which the Labor Standards Act applies;

(5) Conducting private mediation or arbitration under Article 52 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act; and

(6) Acting for or representing a client in notifications, applications, reports, statements, claims (including objections, requests for examination, and administrative appeals), remedies for infringement of rights, and similar matters before the relevant authorities under social-insurance-related statutes.

Annex 1 to the current Enforcement Decree of the Certified Public Labor Attorney Act lists 37 individual labor-related statutes and their subordinate statutes, while Annex 1-2 separately lists five social-insurance-related statutes and their subordinate statutes.

 

1. Labor Standards Act 2. Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act 3. Minimum Wage Act 4. Occupational Safety and Health Act 5. Act on the Prevention of Pneumoconiosis and Protection, etc. of Pneumoconiosis Workers 6. Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act 7. Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act 8. Act on the Promotion of Employees’ Participation and Cooperation 9. Labor Relations Commission Act 10. Employment Security Act 11. Act on Employment Promotion and Vocational Rehabilitation for Persons with Disabilities 12. Lifelong Vocational Competency Development Act 13. Skilled Crafts Promotion Act 14. Framework Act on Labor Welfare 15. Deleted <December 7, 2010> 16. Framework Act on Employment Policy 17. Employment Insurance Act 18. Act on Prohibition of Age Discrimination in Employment and Elderly Employment Promotion 19. Seafarers Act 20. Act on Improvement of Employment of Construction Workers 21. Act on the Protection, etc. of Temporary Agency Workers 22. Wage Claim Guarantee Act 23. Act on the Establishment and Operation of Teachers’ Unions 24. Act on the Collection of Insurance Premiums for Employment Insurance and Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance 25. Act on the Establishment and Operation of Public Officials’ Labor Unions 26. Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act 27. Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers 28. Act on Accident Compensation Insurance for Fishing Crew Members and Fishing Vessels 29. Act on the Protection, etc. of Fixed-Term and Part-Time Employees 30. Social Enterprise Promotion Act 31. National Human Rights Commission of Korea Act (labor-related cases among matters subject to investigation under Article 30) 32. Public Officials Pension Act (provisions concerning benefits and requests for examination) 33. Public Officials’ Accident Compensation Act (provisions concerning benefits and requests for examination) 34. Fair Hiring Procedure Act 35. Act on Support for Work-Study Combination at Industrial Sites 36. Act on the Promotion of Employment and Support for Livelihood Stability for Job Seekers 37. Serious Accidents Punishment Act (provisions concerning serious industrial accidents in Chapter II) 38. Act on Improvement of Employment of Domestic Workers 39. Subordinate statutes based on the laws listed above

 

[Social-Insurance-Related Statutes - Annex 1-2 to the Enforcement Decree]

1. National Pension Act - provisions concerning workplace-based insured persons and certain individually, voluntarily, and voluntarily continuously insured persons 2. National Health Insurance Act - provisions concerning employee insured persons and certain self-employed insured persons 3. Act on Long-Term Care Insurance for Older Persons - provisions concerning long-term care insurance and requests for examination and reexamination 4. Pension for Private School Teachers and Staff Act - provisions concerning benefits and requests for examination 5. Special Post Offices Act - provisions concerning benefits and requests for examination 6. Subordinate statutes based on the laws listed above

 

2. Specific Duties under Applicable Statutes

(1) Matters before Regional Employment and Labor Offices

1) Filing notifications and applications under labor-related statutes, including the preparation, amendment, and filing of Rules of Employment; establishment, amendment, and filing of Labor-Management Council rules; and applications for approval to exclude intermittent or surveillance workers from certain working-time provisions;

2) Handling petitions and complaints concerning unpaid wages, severance pay, statutory allowances, and unused annual-leave pay, and representing clients in available administrative remedies; and

3) Assisting with applications for recognition of de facto bankruptcy and substitute wage payments under the Wage Claim Guarantee Act.

(2) Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service and Social-Insurance Matters

1) Acting for or representing claimants in applications for medical care benefits, temporary disability benefits, disability benefits, survivors’ benefits, funeral expenses, and other industrial accident compensation insurance benefits;

2) Filing requests for examination against decisions on industrial accident compensation insurance benefits and preparing related legal opinions and evidentiary materials; and

3) Handling insured-status and premium matters under Employment Insurance and Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance, as well as notifications, applications, and remedies under the National Pension, National Health Insurance, and Long-Term Care Insurance systems to the extent included within the social-insurance-related statutes covered by the Certified Public Labor Attorney Act.

(3) Occupational Safety and Serious Industrial Accident Matters

1) Advising on safety and health management systems, investigation and reporting of industrial accidents, recurrence-prevention measures, and measures to protect employees under the Occupational Safety and Health Act;

2) Providing labor-law advice and supporting fact-finding concerning serious industrial accidents under Chapter II of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act; and

3) Recognizing that the statutory work of designated safety-management specialist institutions, health-management specialist institutions, or statutory training institutions may require separate qualifications, personnel, facilities, designation, or registration. A Certified Public Labor Attorney qualification alone does not automatically authorize the holder to perform those statutory functions.

(4) Labor Relations Commission Matters

1) Representing parties in applications for remedy from unfair dismissal and other unfair personnel actions, including suspension, disciplinary suspension, transfer, and wage reduction;

2) Representing labor unions or employees in applications for remedy from unfair labor practices;

3) Representing fixed-term, part-time, temporary agency, and other protected workers in applications for correction of discriminatory treatment; and

4) Representing employees or employers continuously from the initial proceedings before a Regional Labor Relations Commission through review proceedings before the National Labor Relations Commission.

(5) Individual Employment Relations

A labor attorney may provide consultation, advice, investigation, and system design across individual employment relations, including employment contracts, wages, working hours, recesses, holidays and leave, discipline and dismissal, Rules of Employment, maternity protection and work-family balance, workplace sexual harassment, and workplace harassment.

(6) Collective Labor Relations

A labor attorney may advise on and represent parties in matters involving the establishment and operation of labor unions, collective bargaining and collective agreements, industrial action, and unfair labor practices, and may conduct private mediation or arbitration under Article 52 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act.

(7) Labor-Management Councils, Temporary Agency Work, Equal Employment, and Employment Insurance

A labor attorney may provide consultation and guidance regarding operation of labor-management councils, the legality of temporary agency work and its distinction from contracting, discrimination against non-regular workers, equal employment for men and women, unemployment benefits, employment stabilization programs, and vocational competency development programs.

(8) Administrative Appeals

Within the scope of duties prescribed by the Certified Public Labor Attorney Act, labor attorneys may represent clients in objections, requests for examination, administrative appeals, and similar procedures concerning labor- and social-insurance-related dispositions. In addition, under Article 16-3 of the Enforcement Decree of the Administrative Appeals Act, a registered labor attorney may be appointed as a state-appointed representative in administrative appeal proceedings. Whether a labor attorney may represent a party in an ordinary administrative appeal must be determined by considering Article 18 of the Administrative Appeals Act together with any authority granted under an individual statute or permission of the competent Administrative Appeals Commission.

(9) Examination and Reexamination of Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Decisions

A person dissatisfied with a decision of the Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service concerning industrial accident compensation insurance benefits may file a request for examination with the Service. A person who remains dissatisfied with the examination decision may file a request for reexamination with the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Reexamination Committee under the Ministry of Employment and Labor. As a general rule, a request for examination or reexamination must be filed within 90 days from the date the claimant became aware of the disposition or examination decision, and a labor attorney may represent the claimant in those proceedings.

 

3. Free Rights-Remedy Services and Public-Interest Support for Vulnerable Workers

The various public-support programs that were formerly described collectively as the “public defense labor attorney” system are now more accurately understood as separate legal-aid and public-interest support programs. Representative programs include the following:

(1) Free appointment of a rights-remedy representative before a Labor Relations Commission: A worker whose average monthly wage is less than KRW 3 million may receive free legal assistance from an attorney-at-law or a Certified Public Labor Attorney when applying for remedy from unfair dismissal or correction of discriminatory treatment, among other matters.

(2) Assistance with substitute wage payments: A worker who has retired from a workplace with fewer than 30 employees without receiving wages because of the employer’s bankruptcy or similar circumstances may receive assistance from a labor attorney when applying for substitute wage payments.

(3) Labor attorneys also perform public-interest roles supporting vulnerable workers and small businesses through such programs as state-appointed representation in administrative appeals, local-government labor-rights protection services, and autonomous improvement programs for working conditions.

 

III. Principal Areas of Practice

 

1. Ongoing HR and Labor Advisory Services for Corporate Clients

Labor attorneys provide ongoing advice on labor-related laws and overall HR management required by companies. They design and revise employment contracts, Rules of Employment, personnel regulations, disciplinary rules, compensation policies, and related systems, and help prevent labor disputes from recruitment through retirement. In recent years, the scope of advisory work has broadened to include workplace harassment and sexual-harassment investigations, reviews of non-regular employment and contracting/temporary-agency structures, maternity protection and work-family balance systems, restructuring and workforce redeployment, and Korean labor-law compliance for foreign-invested and multinational companies.

 

2. Representation in Major Labor Cases

(1) Ministry of Employment and Labor Matters and Case Representation

1) Handling notifications, applications, and approval procedures under labor-related statutes, including Rules of Employment, Labor-Management Council rules, retirement pension rules, and applications for approval to exclude intermittent or surveillance workers from certain working-time provisions;

2) Handling petitions and complaints concerning unpaid wages, including wages, severance pay, shutdown allowances, statutory premium pay for overtime, night and holiday work, and unused annual-leave pay; and

3) Conducting fact-finding, making legal assessments, developing remedial measures, and advising on recurrence prevention in reported cases of workplace sexual harassment and workplace harassment.

(2) Labor Relations Commission Cases

A labor attorney may represent an employee, labor union, or employer in applications for remedy from unfair dismissal, applications for remedy from unfair labor practices, and cases seeking correction of discriminatory treatment against non-regular workers. The labor attorney may handle a case continuously from the initial proceedings before a Regional Labor Relations Commission through review proceedings before the National Labor Relations Commission.

(3) Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service and Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Reexamination Committee Cases

A labor attorney may represent claimants in applications for industrial accident compensation insurance benefits arising from work-related injury, disease, disability, or death. Where a claim is denied in whole or in part, the labor attorney may represent the claimant in a request for examination before the Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service and a request for reexamination before the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Reexamination Committee.

(4) Administrative Appeal Cases

Administrative dispositions or refusals under labor- and social-insurance-related statutes may be challenged through ordinary administrative appeals or special administrative review procedures within the scope permitted by the applicable individual statute and the Certified Public Labor Attorney Act. For each case, it is necessary first to determine whether it is subject to an ordinary administrative appeal or to a separate examination and reexamination procedure.

 

3. Payroll and Social-Insurance Outsourcing

Labor attorneys may perform recurring HR-administration work externally, including payroll calculations, preparation of payroll source data, calculation of severance pay and unused annual-leave pay, and reporting acquisition or loss of insured status and changes in remuneration under the four major social insurance systems. However, the legal basis and processing agencies for insurance-affairs agency services under Employment Insurance and Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance differ from those for filings under the National Pension and National Health Insurance systems. It is therefore inaccurate to state that an “insurance affairs association” uniformly handles all four social insurance systems.

 

4. Collective Bargaining Representation and Advice

Labor attorneys draft wage agreements and collective bargaining agreements, develop bargaining strategies, and represent either labor unions or employers in collective bargaining. If bargaining reaches an impasse, the parties may use mediation through a Labor Relations Commission or private mediation or arbitration under Article 52 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act.

 

5. Specialized HR and Labor Consulting

Labor attorneys design job-grade, performance evaluation, compensation, incentive, retirement-pension, and workforce-management systems suited to the characteristics of the company and its occupations. They also provide specialized consulting on restructuring, organizational integration, employment succession in business transfers and mergers, legality of contracting and temporary agency arrangements, HR due diligence, workplace-harassment prevention systems, and labor-relations risk assessments.

 

6. HR and Labor Education and Training

Labor attorneys provide managers and employees with education and training concerning labor law, prevention of workplace sexual harassment and workplace harassment, working-time management, discipline and dismissal, labor-union relations, industrial accidents, and HR management.

 

IV. Areas in Which the Scope of Practice Needs to Expand

 

1. Expansion into Related Business Areas and Legal Limitations

When expanding the scope of practice, it is necessary to distinguish between duties that may be performed by virtue of the Certified Public Labor Attorney qualification itself and related businesses that require separate registration, licensing, facilities, or personnel. For example, Article 21 of the Enforcement Decree of the Employment Security Act recognizes the Certified Public Labor Attorney qualification as one of the qualifications that may satisfy a registration requirement for a fee-charging employment placement business; a labor attorney may therefore enter that business if the separate registration requirements are met. By contrast, a temporary work agency business requires a separate license and must satisfy personnel, capital, and facility requirements under the Act on the Protection, etc. of Temporary Agency Workers. A Certified Public Labor Attorney qualification itself does not constitute a license to operate a temporary work agency business. Likewise, in occupational safety and health, the statutory functions of designated service agencies and training institutions may require separate designation or registration in addition to labor-law advisory expertise.

Accordingly, the profession should expand primarily into areas directly connected to labor attorneys’ expertise, such as payroll and social-insurance administration, fee-charging employment placement, HR consulting, workplace investigations, and labor-relations diagnostics, while observing the licensing and registration systems of other statutes and the legally protected scopes of other professions.

 

2. Litigation Representation: Administrative Litigation and Wage-Related Civil Litigation

As of August 2026, Certified Public Labor Attorneys do not have general authority to represent parties in administrative or civil litigation before the courts. Accordingly, even if a labor attorney has represented a party continuously in an unfair-dismissal case before a Regional Labor Relations Commission and the National Labor Relations Commission, the party must conduct the case personally or retain an attorney-at-law when filing an administrative action seeking cancellation of the National Labor Relations Commission’s review decision. Likewise, a labor attorney may represent a worker at the Labor Office stage of an unpaid-wage dispute, but representation in a civil lawsuit is, in principle, within the professional scope of attorneys-at-law.

At the same time, a free legal-aid program for workers with unpaid wage claims is operated under Article 17 of the Wage Claim Guarantee Act, so it would not be accurate to assume that civil litigation necessarily entails substantial legal expenses. Considering the specialized knowledge developed and the continuity of representation at the Labor Relations Commission and Labor Office stages, whether labor attorneys should be granted litigation representation rights for a limited category of labor cases remains a matter that may continue to be considered as a legislative-policy issue.

 

V. Conclusion

More than 40 years after enactment of the Certified Public Labor Attorney Act, the statutory duties of labor attorneys now extend beyond labor-related statutes to social-insurance-related statutes. The labor market also continues to generate new issues involving platform work, diverse forms of employment, work-family balance policies responding to low birth rates, workplace harassment and discrimination, and serious industrial accidents.

Certified Public Labor Attorneys should develop beyond the role of representatives who handle labor disputes and become comprehensive labor and social-insurance professionals who prevent HR and labor risks for companies while providing effective protection of workers’ rights. At the same time, when expanding into related areas such as fee-charging employment placement, payroll and social-insurance outsourcing, HR consulting, education and training, and occupational safety and health advisory work, labor attorneys must accurately comply with the separate registration and licensing requirements applicable to each business. Maintaining a balance between professional expertise and clear legal boundaries will support both public confidence in the Certified Public Labor Attorney system and the sound expansion of its scope of practice.

 

<Key References (August 2026)>

1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Certified Public Labor Attorney Act (Korean Law Information Center; effective December 11, 2022).

2. Article 2, Annex 1, and Annex 1-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Certified Public Labor Attorney Act (Korean Law Information Center; effective September 26, 2024).

3. Human Resources Development Service of Korea, Q-Net, 2026 Plan for the 35th Certified Public Labor Attorney Qualification Examination (minimum number of successful second-stage candidates: 370; second-stage examination: August 29-30, 2026).

4. Annual Certified Public Labor Attorney examination statistics (cumulative final successful candidates from the 1st through 34th examinations: 7,078).

5. Ministry of Employment and Labor and National Labor Relations Commission, Free Appointment Program for Rights-Remedy Representatives before Labor Relations Commissions (average monthly wage below KRW 3 million).

6. Ministry of Employment and Labor Labor Portal, Assistance Program for Substitute Wage Payments (workplaces with fewer than 30 employees).

7. Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Reexamination Committee, Guidance on Requests for Examination and Reexamination.

8. Article 18 of the Administrative Appeals Act and Article 16-3 of its Enforcement Decree (eligibility for state-appointed representatives).

9. Article 21 of the Enforcement Decree of the Employment Security Act (registration requirements for fee-charging employment placement businesses).

10. Ministry of Employment and Labor, Wage Claim Guarantee Fund Program Guidance (free legal aid for workers with unpaid wage claims).