Labor Ministry's investigative muscle faces its biggest test yet

The abolition of prosecutors' authority to direct special judicial police investigations has put the Ministry of Employment and Labor's investigative capabilities squarely to the test.

Starting in October, labor inspectors will in effect conduct independent investigations into violations of labor laws — covering industrial accidents, wage theft and unfair labor practices — without prosecutorial oversight. With the ministry now absorbing the supplementary investigation and legal review functions that prosecutors previously handled, attention is focused on whether the new independent regime can take hold.

According to government and National Assembly sources, an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure passed by the Assembly on Friday removed the provision requiring special judicial police officers to follow prosecutors' directions. The Public Prosecution Service Act, which takes effect Oct. 2, also strips prosecutors of their authority to direct and supervise special judicial police.

As a result, labor inspectors and other special judicial police will conduct investigations independently, free from the existing command-and-control structure. Prosecutors may still request supplementary investigation, but they will no longer be able to dictate the direction of a probe or directly control a case. Ultimately, the outcome of labor cases will hinge on inspectors' initial investigations, evidence gathering and legal judgment.

Labor inspectors are special judicial police who investigate violations of labor laws, including the Labor Standards Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Minimum Wage Act, the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. They handle most major criminal cases arising from the workplace, including wage theft, illegal dispatch, unfair labor practices and industrial accidents.

Divergent assessments between the ministry and prosecutors on labor cases have been common. Labor groups have consistently criticized prosecutors for delaying case resolution through repeated requests for supplementary investigation and decisions not to indict.

The most prominent example is the Hyundai Motor illegal dispatch case. In 2004, the ministry found that about 10,000 in-house subcontract workers at Hyundai Motor's factories in Ulsan, Asan and Jeonju had been illegally dispatched, but prosecutors cleared the company of charges roughly two years later. Even after the Serious Accidents Punishment Act took effect, some cases in which the ministry forwarded executives for indictment were ultimately dropped by prosecutors following supplementary review, further exposing the gap between the two agencies.

There are also cases where prosecutors filled gaps left by the ministry's investigations. In the 2024 SPC Group union-busting case, prosecutors conducted additional investigation beyond the ministry's work before indicting SPC Group Chairman Huh Young-in on charges of violating the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act. With that supplementary function now falling largely to the ministry itself, the investigative expertise of labor inspectors will matter more than ever.

Yet observers note that the ministry faces considerable practical burdens in sustaining an independent investigative regime.

Labor inspectors are already handling serious accidents and wage theft cases alongside a sharp rise in workplace harassment complaints, which reached 16,373 last year — an increase of more than 20 percent from the previous year. Abusive behavior and repeat complaints from petitioners have also been rising steadily.

The situation came into sharp relief recently when a labor inspector in his 40s died after struggling under an excessive workload and hostile complainants. Concerns have also been raised within the ministry about whether investigative staffing and expertise are keeping pace with the growing caseload.

The government is moving to expand the labor inspector corps and strengthen training ahead of the independent investigation regime.

The number of labor inspectors is set to grow from 3,131 in 2024 to 5,899 this year, with plans to reach 7,349 in 2027 and 8,031 in 2028. Starting this year, new inspectors are enrolled in a dedicated investigative training program, and industrial safety inspectors are receiving specialized training in serious-accident investigations.

Legal experts widely doubt, however, that expanding the organization alone will be enough to replace, in short order, the supplementary investigation and legal review functions prosecutors have long provided. As complex cases involving serious accidents and unfair labor practices continue to multiply, how quickly labor inspectors can build investigative experience and expertise will ultimately determine whether the independent regime succeeds or fails.