Ministry of Employment and Labor announces digital labor seminar with Uzbekistan

South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor said Thursday that the Korea Labor Foundation had held a joint seminar with Uzbekistan's Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction on AI-based labor administration and inspection capabilities.

The seminar was organized under a 2024-26 policy-advisory project to improve Uzbekistan's labor laws and institutions. It shared results from work on revising labor-protection legislation, improving the labor-inspection system and establishing an inspector training framework.

Officials discussed applying Korea's experience with AI-supported labor administration and data-driven systems to Uzbekistan's digital transition. They also considered follow-on projects in training, policy advice and digital-platform building to modernize labor inspection and strengthen industrial-safety oversight.

Kim Dong-hyun, head of the ministry's Intelligent Information Planning Team, presented Korea's use of AI and digital tools in labor administration, including a common AI platform and labor-law counselling service. He also outlined data standardization and quality-management systems, as well as an AI counselling monitoring system.

Uzbekistan presented changes in its labor laws, institutions and policies since 2024, including reforms pursued after Korean policy advice and future tasks.

The discussion followed a memorandum of understanding on employment and labor cooperation signed in May. Park Jong-pil, secretary-general of the Korea Labor Foundation, said the agreement had widened the scope of the relationship. "Cooperation between the two institutions is expanding beyond labor laws and institutions into practical areas such as digital labor administration and strengthening labor-inspection and industrial-safety inspection capabilities," he said.

The delegation's training visit to Korea from Aug. 2 to 8 includes observing AI-enabled labor administration and occupational-safety practices, as well as inspector training and safety-experience education.