The Roh Tae-woo Government (1988–1992) at last yielded to the social pressure
and enacted a minimum wage law and implemented a national pension
program for private sector workers. The Kim Young-sam Government (1993–
1997) introduced an unemployment social insurance scheme and expanded the
national pension program to farmers and fisherfolk. Even though many welfare
policies and schemes were introduced, the degree of social welfare in the Republic
of Korea was still not as good as those observed in the advanced countries.
Still, it should be recognized as the period of transition that forced the government
to have concerns about distribution and poverty issues.