The Top Priority Bill Companies Hope to Pass in the 21st National Assembly... Extension of the Flexible Working Hours Unit Period

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] Companies identified job creation support and deregulation as key economic revitalization measures that the 21st National Assembly should prioritize. The bill they most hope to see passed swiftly in the 21st National Assembly is the amendment to the Labor Standards Act concerning the extension of the flexible working hours unit period.

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) announced on the 19th that, based on a survey of the top 1,000 companies by sales, 109 out of 160 respondent companies (68.1%) cited economic revitalization measures as the top priority for the 21st National Assembly. This was followed by political reform (16.2%), social integration (6.3%), and economic diplomacy (6.3%).

Among the companies that chose economic revitalization, they mentioned strengthening job creation support systems (31.1%), promoting deregulation to encourage corporate investment (29.1%), preparing measures to increase labor market flexibility (15.8%), improving tax systems to enhance corporate competitiveness (10.7%), and establishing legal systems to foster the 4th Industrial Revolution (9.2%).

The FKI emphasized, "This result reflects that companies are most concerned about job issues due to the economic crisis," and added, "To solve job problems, it is necessary to activate corporate investment through deregulation."

Regarding urgent projects for the 21st National Assembly to overcome the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the formation and operation of a consultative body among the National Assembly, government, and private economic sectors (20.3%), temporary regulatory relief (17.6%), strengthening support for companies maintaining employment (17.2%), and preparing tax support measures for affected companies (16.9%) were highlighted.

The FKI proposed, "To minimize the damage caused by the economic crisis due to the spread of COVID-19, it is urgent to form a consultative body involving the National Assembly, government, and private economic sectors to discuss crisis recovery measures."

The bill most hoped to be promptly passed by the 21st National Assembly was the one related to extending the flexible working hours unit period, with a response rate of 42.6%. This was followed by the Minimum Wage Act related to changes in calculation methods (22.4%), the Framework Act on the Development of Service Industries (12.0%), the Commercial Act (securing defense measures against management rights attacks, 8.9%), and the Medical Service Act (allowing telemedicine, 8.9%).

Among economic-related bills passed by the 20th National Assembly that helped corporate activities, the Data 3 Laws (23.2%), the Special Act on Financial Innovation Support (21.5%), the Special Measures Act on Materials, Parts, and Equipment Industry (18.3%), the expansion of the application scope of the Act on Vitalization of Corporate Activities (15.8%), and the Regional Special Development Zone Act (14.8%) ranked in order.

Regarding the important roles of the National Assembly, active representation of the people's will (38.7%), system improvement through legislation and revision (36.9%), rational adjustment of government budgets (16.9%), mediation of social conflicts (4.4%), and monitoring and checking the executive branch (2.5%) were noted.

Yoo Hwan-ik, Director of Corporate Policy at the FKI, said, "Companies hope that the 21st National Assembly will take the lead in overcoming the economic crisis caused by the spread of COVID-19," and added, "We expect various legal systems to be established in the 21st National Assembly to overcome the economic crisis and lead the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.