Dongdaemun-gu in Seoul promulgated an ordinance on the operation of a worker director system at public institutions under its jurisdiction — including local public corporations and investment and endowment agencies — on July 2, District Mayor Choi Dong-min announced.
The worker director system guarantees that workers can serve as members of their institution's board of directors and participate directly in management decision-making. Worker directors are appointed as non-standing directors in accordance with the ordinance and the institution's articles of association, and they hold the right to speak and vote on key board matters — including business plans, budgets and financial statements, organizational structure, amendments to the articles of association, and the disposal of assets.
The worker director system for public institutions under local governments was first introduced in 2016, when the Seoul Metropolitan Government enacted an ordinance covering city-affiliated public institutions. The system has since expanded: the central government later amended the Act on the Management of Public Institutions to extend the system to public institutions under central administrative agencies. Among Seoul's basic autonomous districts, Dongdaemun-gu is the second to enact such an ordinance, following Seongdong-gu in March 2025.
The ordinance covers the definition of worker directors, the institutions subject to the system, the responsibilities of the heads of those institutions, the appointment procedure for worker directors, eligibility requirements and disqualifying conditions, and the term, authority and responsibilities of worker directors.
The district said it expects the introduction of the worker director system to strengthen internal oversight and checks through workers' institutional participation in management, thereby enhancing the public interest, accountability and transparency of public institution operations. It also anticipates that the system will allow frontline voices grounded in practical experience and knowledge to be reflected in decision-making, and that it will have a positive effect on labor-management cooperation.
"Introducing the worker director system will lay the groundwork for reflecting workers' voices in the decision-making processes of public institutions, strengthening their public interest and social responsibility, and ultimately improving services for district residents," District Mayor Choi said. "We will continue to do our utmost to strengthen labor-management cooperation, establish systems that reflect frontline voices, and implement and support relevant policies."
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