Labor ministry names seven firms for outstanding reemployment support

The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Labor Foundation on Tuesday selected seven companies as outstanding providers of reemployment support services for their efforts to help workers design careers and choose benefits tailored to their needs. The 2026 awards aim to spread best practices among firms required to support employees aged 50 and older facing involuntary retirement.

Baeksong Medical Foundation took the top prize for creating a joint model with its subcontractor, Hanguk S-Way, that allows workers from both companies to participate in career development programs. The foundation established a committee that meets monthly and explicitly includes subcontractor employees in its operating guidelines, counting all training hours as paid work time so field staff can attend without burden.

Korea Kolmar received the excellence award for combining eight-hour group education sessions with one-on-one job placement counseling, resulting in a participant satisfaction score of 4.83 out of five. The cosmetics manufacturer designated a dedicated talent development team and allocated a separate budget of 13 million won for next year to establish a sustainable internal career support system.

Five other organizations received awards from the foundation's secretary general for adapting the program to their specific industry conditions. Winners included the Jung-gu Facilities Management Corporation, which rehired eight retirees by linking the service to improved contract worker rules, and Ansan Transportation, which partnered with a smaller peer firm to share consulting resources and provide AI training for taxi drivers.

Park Jong-pil, secretary general of the Korea Labor Foundation, said he hopes the cases will help spread worker-centered services across newly obligated companies and small to mid-sized firms. He added that the foundation will actively support these businesses through consulting and training to strengthen the capabilities of those in charge of running the programs.