A four-day workweek is a hot topic now globally, with thousands of workers in the UK partaking in the largest experiment to date of a shortened work schedule.
In South Korea, a law that caps weekly working hours at 52 is facing scrutiny for the opposite reason.
Last week, Labor Minister Lee Jeong-sik said that the government would consider revising the current 52-hour workweek system to a monthly basis, allowing employers and workers to exercise more flexibility. In other words, longer working hours.
President Yoon Suk-yeol and his office has said, however, that the plan has yet to be confirmed, but acknowledged that reforming work rules is part of the Yoon administration’s agenda.
Why controversial?
The 52-hour workweek was first introduced in 2018 under the previous Moon Jae-in administration in an effort to ensure “a life with breaks.” Before the amendment to the Labor Standards Act was introduced, workers were legally allowed to clock in up to 68 hours a week.
While many workers work 40 hours a week, the law mandates that overtime work cannot exceed 12 hours a week, capping the total hours at 52.
In July last year, workplaces with as few as five employees became subject to this rule.
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