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On August 3, the Ministry of Labor stated that they are attempting to revise some labor related provisions of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Korea and the United States that are disadantageous to Korean workers employed at U.S. military bases.

The ministry is attempting to revise the provisions in such a way as to have Korean workers protected by Korean domestic labor laws against any form of discrimination or wrongful dismissal. The ministry is also attempting to shorten the prohibition period for labor action during labor disputes. They are also trying to ease the preconditions for the organization of special committees in labor disputes.

According to the present SOFA provisions, labor laws should protect Korean workers working at U.S. military. However, they in fact are outside the influence of Korean law and are chained by ambiguous provisions, which say that Korean law will apply to Korean workers as long as those laws do not run counter to the needs of the U.S. military. The Ministry of Labor criticized the U.S. military for interpreting this as whatever they need it to.

The Ministry of Labor also stated that the provision, which says that the U.S. Army can dismiss Korean workers whenever their continued employment is harmful to the U.S. Army's mission in Korea, should be deleted as well. The limit on labor action for 70 days after the submission of a complaint to the Korean-American Joint Committee should be shortened to 10 to 15 days, a similar level to Korean labor law.