Small and Medium Enterprises Meet Prime Minister Kim Bu-gyeom to Appeal for "52-Hour Workweek Exemption"

Meeting of Heads of Five Economic Organizations... Conveying Labor Shortages and Management Difficulties
Request for Realistic Adjustment of Delivery Prices and Minimizing Minimum Wage Increase

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum is taking a commemorative photo with the heads of the five major economic organizations at the Prime Minister and Economic Organization Leaders Meeting held at the Chamber Lounge of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Building on Namdaemun-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 3rd. From the left, Koo Ja-yeol, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association; Sohn Kyung-shik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation; Prime Minister Kim; Chey Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business; Kang Ho-gap, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

"The introduction of the 52-hour workweek system should be postponed at least until the entry of foreign workers becomes smooth."

The small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector met with Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum to appeal for an extension of the grace period for the 52-hour workweek system and to express difficulties caused by the recent surge in raw material prices.

On the 3rd, Kim Ki-moon, chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, requested at a meeting with the heads of five economic organizations and the Prime Minister that the grace period for the 52-hour workweek system, which will apply to workplaces with 5 to 49 employees starting next month, be extended. Chairman Kim emphasized that root companies are facing difficulties securing manpower not only due to a shortage of on-site workers but also because the entry of foreign workers has been restricted due to COVID-19. He conveyed an urgent position that the implementation timing of the 52-hour workweek system, which was set before the COVID-19 outbreak, needs to be adjusted to reflect the changed circumstances.

He also pointed out the issue of realistic adjustment of delivery prices due to the recent surge in raw material prices. Chairman Kim lamented, "We are unable to properly reflect the cost increases caused by rising raw material prices in the delivery prices, so the more deliveries we make, the worse our profits become." He stressed the need to introduce a delivery price linkage system and to manage and supervise the actual reflection of delivery prices so that SMEs can receive fair prices for their deliveries.

The SME sector's concerns do not end there. The Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which strengthens penalties on business owners in case of serious accidents, will be enforced from January next year. Chairman Kim argued for legal revision, saying, "The minimum penalty provision that punishes business owners for more than one year even for accidents caused by workers' negligence will only increase anxiety."

Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, attended the meeting between the Prime Minister and economic organization leaders held at the Chamber Lounge of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Building on Namdaemun-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 3rd, delivering a greeting.

This meeting was the first occasion for Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum to meet with economic organization leaders since his inauguration, attended by Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Koo Ja-yeol, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association; Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs; Sohn Kyung-shik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation; and Kang Ho-gap, Chairman of the Korea Association of Small and Medium Business.

The level of next year's minimum wage is also a problem. It is a factor that increases the management burden on SMEs, which are experiencing rising raw material prices and labor shortages. Chairman Kim appealed, "Please minimize the increase in next year's minimum wage so that companies can get back on track and have the capacity to move forward." The SME sector claims that the sharp minimum wage hikes in 2018 and 2019 reduced new jobs and increased labor costs for small business owners and self-employed individuals, worsening the economy. They believe that next year's minimum wage increase could also have a negative impact while overcoming the economic recession caused by COVID-19.

Reflecting these industry realities, the recently announced June Small and Medium Business Sentiment Index (SBHI) fell for the first time in five months, recording 80.5. The manufacturing sector's June business outlook was 86.2, down 2.6 points from the previous month, and the non-manufacturing sector was 77.5, down 3.5 points from the previous month. It was analyzed that the recent surge in raw material prices and disruptions in shipping and logistics negatively affected the perceived economy.

The SME sector raises the 'new three economic no's' as structural problems that make business owners struggle: unfair transactions in delivery prices between large and small-medium enterprises, market imbalance between online platform operators and tenant companies, and irrationalities in the procurement market system. A Korea Federation of SMEs official said, "Resolving the dual structure between companies and the digital market imbalance is essential to overcome the COVID-19 crisis and enable the economy to leap forward."

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