The Labor Standards Act was amended to allow a liberalization of the labor market and improve its flexibility as well as maintain the balance in the bargaining process between the management and labor.
It is expected that the amendments will be more efficient in terms of HR management, because it should improve the flexibility of the labor market, especially in terms of working hours and employment adjustment.

• Flexible working hours were introduced, which can be changed in units of two weeks or three months under certain conditions of the new law.
• That is, the selective working hours system determines only the total working hours within a period of one month, so that the worker can freely decide over when to start and stop working and on what day.
• A new system was implemented according to a written agreement between management and labor stating that specific working days can be replaced by annual and monthly leave.
• A flexible severance pay system was introduced, allowing for more flexible management and including a mid-term settlement of severance pay as well as the severance pay pension system. The mid-term settlement of severance pay is a system providing severance pay before retirement for the years of continuous work up to the day of the settlement. The pension system is a retirement insurance, which allows the worker to receive his severance pay as a bulk payment or in installments (as pension).
• The conditions and process of employment adjustment were clearly defined through the amendments of the Labor Standards Act in February 1998 and implemented immediately by abolishing the deferment period until March 1999. In order to prevent a deterioration of business, it was noted that consultation is needed in times of transfer, merger or acquisition or businesses in order to allow an active and smooth company restructuring.
Flexibility in HR management could be achieved through the utilization of outsourcing workforce.
The bargaining process between the labor and management could be improved by changing the existing system and abolishing irrational elements.
• Paying wages to a full-time unionist is an illegal action of the employer, however, the application of the new law is postponed for five years for those companies (the payment will be gradually reduced over the years and the reduced money used as a financial source for the union).
• The employer is not obligated to pay wages during the period of industrial action for the workers participating in the action, and it is not possible to engage in industrial action demanding wages for that period.
• The law prohibiting industrial action outside the business place was abolished and instead it is now prohibited to undertake industrial action in the major facilities for production etc. by obstructing the operation or entrance to those facilities or occupying them.