If your workplace employs foreign workers, the hiring process will gain one more step from early next year. Today's briefing centers on that legislative notice, together with problems that arise after an administrative appeal, pre-move-in inspections of new apartments, and lawsuits over sanctions in the health and medical sector.
Today's 3 key points > 1. Employers hiring foreign workers must have them complete at least 3 hours of basic safety and health training (Act takes effect January 8, 2027; comments on subordinate regulations due by November 2). > 2. Cases in which the administrative authority did not issue a new disposition after the claimant won an administrative appeal numbered 122 in 2022–2025, with 60 last year alone. > 3. A proposal recommends that apartment complexes of 1,000 or more households run pre-move-in visits for at least 3 days, including one weekend day.
## 1. Mandatory 3-hour basic safety and health training for foreign workers — effective January 8, 2027 (Occupational Safety and Health Act Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rule)
- What changes — Employers hiring foreign workers must have them complete basic safety and health training. The draft Enforcement Rule sets the training at at least 3 hours, designates the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) as the training institution, and allows a full exemption for those who have already received similar safety and health training. The draft Enforcement Decree contains the criteria for imposing administrative fines for non-completion or for impersonating a training institution (amounts ⚠️ check the original text).
- Also changing — Ten industries with 50 or more regular employees, including software development and supply, as well as workplaces employing only office workers, will be added to those subject to the obligation of 'safety and health training upon hiring.' A person who has completed job training and is re-appointed to the same duty within the refresher-training cycle may be exempted from new training using the previous completion certificate.
- Who is affected — Employers of foreign workers (E-9, etc.), workplaces in newly covered industries, persons appointed to safety management duties
- When — The amended Act takes effect on January 8, 2027 (Act No. 21853). The subordinate regulations are at the legislative notice stage (comment period: September 23 – November 2, 2026)
- Note from the administrative agent — When planning the schedule from the employment permit application through entry into Korea and placement at the workplace, build in these 3 hours of training in advance. The fine amounts and the types of training eligible for exemption may change in the final version, so we recommend checking the official notice again after November.
- Sources: [National Participatory Legislation Center · Legislative notice of the partial amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act Enforcement Decree (Ministry of Employment and Labor)](https://opinion.lawmaking.go.kr/gcom/ogLmPp/88742) / [Partial amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act Enforcement Rule](https://opinion.lawmaking.go.kr/gcom/ogLmPp/88804)
## 2. 122 cases in 4 years where no new disposition followed a won administrative appeal — 60 last year
- What changes — According to data that Rep. Park Sung-hoon of the National Assembly's National Policy Committee obtained from the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, among the Central Administrative Appeals Commission's rulings upholding claims in 2022–2025, 2,458 cases required a new disposition by the administrative authority, and 122 of them were not carried out. By year: 15 in 2022, 25 in 2023, 22 in 2024 and 60 in 2025. Over the same period, 242 petitions for indirect compulsion were filed (as reported).
- Who is affected — Claimants who received a ruling upholding their claim in an administrative appeal; administrative authorities obliged to issue a new disposition
- When — Not a change to the system (National Assembly audit data). The lawmaker's office raised the need to review the system
- Note from the administrative agent — If the administrative authority does not act after you have received a ruling upholding your claim, the Administrative Appeals Act allows you to apply to the commission for a direct disposition (Article 50) or indirect compulsion (Article 50-2). The starting point is to keep a record of the date you received the written ruling and of your requests to the authority to comply.
- Source: [Joseilbo · Citizens win administrative appeals, yet agencies 'hold out'?](http://www.joseilbo.com/news/htmls/2026/09/20260924576331.html) (Primary source: data submitted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, released by the lawmaker's office)
## 3. Pre-move-in visits of at least 3 days, including a weekend, recommended for apartments of 1,000+ households (Housing Act Enforcement Rule)
- What changes — The authority granting use inspection approval may, where necessary, recommend that complexes of 1,000 or more households hold pre-move-in visits for at least 3 days. The visit period must include at least 1 weekend day or public holiday, and the inspection hours must include 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. If the project developer postpones the schedule, it must notify prospective residents at least 20 days before the first day of the visits. The share of units whose interiors are inspected by the quality inspection team changes to at least 1% of all households.
- Who is affected — Prospective residents of large complexes, project developers (developers and builders), authorities granting use inspection approval (local governments)
- When — Not yet determined; stage: legislative notice (comment period: September 23 – November 2, 2026)
- Note from the administrative agent — Record any defects found during the pre-move-in visit with photos and locations in a written repair request; this makes it easier to confirm corrective action before the use inspection. In areas such as Songdo, where large complexes continue to move in, we recommend that residents' groups keep track of the deadline for notice of postponement (20 days in advance).
- Source: [National Participatory Legislation Center · Legislative notice of the partial amendment to the Housing Act Enforcement Rule (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)](https://opinion.lawmaking.go.kr/gcom/ogLmPp/88822)
## 4. Court upholds penalty surcharge of around KRW 1 billion on medical institution · Status of lawsuits over suspension of medical professionals' qualifications
- What changes — The Seoul Administrative Court held lawful the penalty surcharges (KRW 992.74 million for health insurance benefits and KRW 44.41 million for medical aid benefits) and recovery orders imposed on a medical corporation that provided home nursing by visiting day-and-night care centers for the elderly and claimed benefits for it. The court found that a day-and-night care center, which provides care only for certain hours of the day, cannot be regarded as the 'home' for home nursing purposes. Separately, Ministry of Health and Welfare data (2021 to August 2026) analyzed by Rep. Seo Young-seok showed that of 1,348 administrative lawsuits against the Ministry, 315 concerned license revocations or qualification suspensions of medical professionals and others; in qualification suspension lawsuits, the Ministry lost 37 of the 214 concluded cases (as reported).
- Who is affected — Medical institutions claiming visiting or home nursing benefits; medical professionals subject to qualification suspension or license revocation
- When — Court ruling (first instance; whether it is final ⚠️ check the original text) and National Assembly audit data
- Note from the administrative agent — Under benefit standards, a single seemingly minor requirement such as the 'place of service' can decide a recovery of hundreds of millions of won. If you receive advance notice of a disposition, start by organizing your factual evidence within the deadline for submitting opinions, and first confirm the deadline for challenging it: within 90 days from the date you became aware of the disposition.
- Sources: [Newsmp · Home nursing provided at day-and-night care centers and benefits claimed: administrative disposition justified](https://www.newsmp.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=258314) / [Doctors News · Status of administrative lawsuits over revocation of licenses and suspension of qualifications of medical professionals](https://www.doctorsnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=166497)
## Deadlines to watch this week
- September 29 (Tue) — Deadline for the 4th round of employment permit applications for E-9 foreign workers
- November 2 (Mon) — Deadline for comments on the amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Act Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rule and the Housing Act Enforcement Rule
- November 2 (Mon) — Deadline for comments on the draft Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Life Safety (Act takes effect December 3, 2026) and the Enforcement Rule of the Installation and Utilization of Sports Facilities Act (new standard for spacing between screen golf bays)
*This briefing was prepared by Hwang Yun-sang Administrative Agent Office based on publicly available materials. Whether it applies to an individual case must be confirmed with the competent authority.*