SEOUL — South Korea’s conservative government has proposed increasing the legal cap on weekly work hours from 52 to 69, triggering backlash from the opposition and wage-earners who fear the plan will ruin work-life balance in a country already well known for workaholism.
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The opposition Democratic Party, which introduced the 52-hour workweek in 2018, said the new plan risks increasing unemployment as it could allow employers to lay off workers and ask those who stay to work longer hours.
South Koreans already toil more than many of their overseas counterparts. They work an average of 1,915 hours a year, compared with 1,791 hours for Americans and 1,490 hours for the French, who have a 35-hour workweek, according to figures from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD average is 1,716 hours.
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South Korea’s proposal comes as the four-day workweek gains traction from Britain to California.
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In a bid to sway public opinion, President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration says some workers might ultimately have more free time under the new rules, as the government would also introduce a cap on the number of working hours per month, quarter or year. There would also be restrictions on working more than three 60-plus-hour weeks in a row. This means four-day workweeks are a...
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