South Korean government to enhance legal and institutional framework for sharing economy workers

The South Korean government held a meeting to discuss required institutional and legal frameworks for emerging sharing economy companies. Shared economy of space, finance, and knowledge were the main sectors debated by government representatives. The government plans to support sharing economy workers, providing that incomes less than 5 million won (USD$5 000) will be subject to simple taxation proceedings and workers will be exempted from aggregated income reporting. Also, workers will be covered for occupational health and safety insurance benefits. The government counts on including freelancers in the IT sector and workers from sharing economy businesses to receive these benefits by 2021. This change will be more inclusive of new categories of workers. The discussion comes amid threats to worker rights in sharing economy businesses across the world.