I. Introduction
The certified public labor attorney (hereinafter referred to as “labor attorney”) system was started with the introduction of the Certified Public Labor Attorney Act in December 1984, and today approximately 3000 labor attorneys (including new labor attorneys expected in 2012) are active in business. This labor attorney system was introduced to promote the development of a healthy economy through the support of labor management in the workplace and the restoration of infringed rights of workers through the efforts of qualified professionals in the personnel and labor fields. It also allows companies to reduce costs and promote reasonable human resource management by hiring labor attorneys, who are certified professionals in human resources and labor management. In this presentation, I would like to expand on the legalized scope of job duties with which the labor attorney must deal, and then explain the practical work scope performed, based upon my ten years of experience as a labor attorney.

II. Legislated Scope of Duties
1. Duties of a Labor Attorney according to 31 labor laws.
(1) Acting as a representative or an agent for notification, application, report, statement, request (including filing a complaint, a request for examination and a request for trial) and remedy of rights etc., made to the authorities under labor-related Acts and subordinate statutes;
(2) Preparing and confirming all the documents under labor-related Acts and subordinate statutes;
(3) Consultation and guidance regarding labor-related Acts and subordinate statutes and labor management laws;
(4) Labor management diagnosis for businesses or workplaces to which the Labor Standards Act is applicable; and
(5) Private mediation or arbitration prescribed in Article 52 of the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act.
 Labor laws falling within the scope of duties of a labor attorney are as follows:

1. Labor Standards Act;
2. Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation;
3. Minimum Wage Act;
4. Occupational Safety and Health Act;
5. Act on the Prevention of Pneumoconiosis and Protection, etc., of Workers with Pneumoconiosis;
6. Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act;
7. Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act;
8. Act on the Promotion of Worker Participation and Cooperation;
9. Labor Relations Commission Act;
10. Employment Security Act;
11. Act on Employment Promotion and Vocational Rehabilitation for Disabled Persons;
12. Workers Vocational Skills Development Act;
13. Craftsmanship Promotion Act;
14. Framework Act on Labor Welfare;
15. Framework Act on Employment Policy;
16. Employment Insurance Act;
17. Act on Prohibition of Age Discrimination in Employment and Aged Employment Promotion;
18 Seaman Act;
19. Act on the Employment Improvement, etc., of Construction Workers;
20. Act on the Protection, etc., of Dispatched Workers;
21. Wage Claim Guarantee Act;
22. Act on the Establishment, Operation, etc., of Labor Unions for Teachers;
23. Act on the Collection, etc. of Premiums for Employment Insurance and Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance;
24. Act on the Establishment, Operation, etc., of Public Officials’ Labor Unions;
25. Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act;
26. Act on Foreign Workers’ Employment, etc.;
27. Seaman and Fishery Accident Compensation Insurance Act;
28. Act on the Protection, etc. of Fixed-term and part-time Employees;
29. Social Enterprise Promotion Act;
30. National Human Rights Commission Act (only applicable to labor cases among investigations according to Article 30);
31. Public Officials Act [only applicable to Chapter 4 (Benefits) and Chapter 7 (Application for Re-examination];
32. Subsidiary Enforcement Decrees and Regulations of Number 1 to Number 31 of the above laws.

2. Concrete summary of the labor attorney’s legal scope of duties
(1) Labor Office-related tasks:
1) Composing, revising and reporting the Rules of Employment and formation of a Labor-Management Council; 2) Acting as a representative or an agent for filing petitions, complaints, or claims regarding unpaid wages or severance pay; and 3) Processing requests involved in insolvency payments (obtaining proof of a company’s bankruptcy, submitting applications, etc.) according to the Wage Claim Guarantee Act.
(2) Employee Welfare Corporation-related tasks:
1) Acting as a representative or an agent in application for medical care benefits, suspension benefits, disability benefits, survivors’ benefits or funeral expenses; 2) Acting as an agent in the appeal of rejected applications for each of the above benefits; and 3) Managing the implementation of Employment Insurance and Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance affairs, and adjusting premium calculations (Estimated and final insurance premiums).
(3) Industrial safety and accident compensation-related tasks:
1) Acting as an agent for the re-examination of industrial accidents; and 2) Providing advice regarding industrial accidents and occupational safety and health issues.
(4) In Labor Relations Commission-related cases:
1) Acting as an agent for the application of remedies for dismissal, discipline, transfer, demotion, etc. of individual employees and 2) Acting as an agent for remedy applications regarding unfair labor practices on behalf of a labor union.
(5) Individual employment-related tasks:
1) Consultation on justification of dismissal; 2) Consultation on wages; 3) Consultation on working hours, holidays, recesses, etc.; 4) Consultation on employment contracts, Rules of Employment, etc.
(6) Collective industrial relations-related tasks:
1) Consultation on labor disputes and labor relations; 2) Consultation regarding collective bargaining and collective agreements; 3) Consultation on unfair labor practices; and 4) Private mediation and arbitration for the adjustment of labor disputes.
(7) Act on the Promotion of Worker Participation and Cooperation; Act on the Protection, etc., of Dispatched Workers; Employment Insurance Act; and Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation:
1) Consultation on operation of labor-management councils; 2) Consultation on working conditions, treatment, and operation of dispatched workers; 3) Consultation on labor disputes related to gender equality; and 4) Consultation on unemployment allowance, vocational skill development, and employment security.
(8) The Administrative Appeals Commission:
A labor attorney acts as an agent for administrative appeals against administrative measures issued by the Labor Office and other related agencies.
(9) The Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Appeals Committee:
A labor attorney acts as an agent for the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Appeals Committee upon rejection by the Employee Welfare Corporation of an examination application.

3. Public Defense Labor Attorney
The Labor attorney’s public defender system was introduced to protect the rights and interests of vulnerable social groups. The public defender works as an agent for low-wage earners and provides a labor-management diagnosis for vulnerable small businesses or workplaces receiving a minimum subsidy from the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
(1) Low-income workers (with a monthly average wage of 1.7 million won or less) who have received unfair disciplinary actions can use a public defense labor attorney and seek remedy at the Labor Relations Commission.
(2) In cases where workers did not receive wages due to the bankruptcy of a small company with less than 10 workers, they may be able to receive an insolvency payment through the support of the public defending labor attorney.
(3) A public defense labor attorney act