Moon Seung-wook, Minister of Industry, "Support for SMEs to Settle the 52-Hour Workweek"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] Moon Seung-wook, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, announced on the 9th, "If necessary, we will consider additional support measures to ensure the full implementation of the 52-hour workweek system is established early in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector."

On the morning of the same day, Minister Moon visited the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, and held a meeting with Chairman Kim Gi-moon and about 10 SME representatives, making the announcement.

Minister Moon said, "The rapid and strong recovery of the Korean economy, including the first-ever export milestone of $300 billion in the first half of the year, is thanks to the solid support of SMEs, which are the backbone of our economy. To support the early establishment of the full implementation of the 52-hour workweek system, we will closely monitor the situations of vulnerable industries such as the root and textile sectors, and if necessary, consult with related ministries to consider additional support measures." He added, "In particular, to help the root industry settle the 52-hour workweek, we will support the reduction of working hours by expanding the establishment of intelligent root process systems at production sites."

He also stated that support would be expanded for logistics costs and securing shipping space for small export companies facing difficulties related to logistics due to the sharp rise in maritime freight rates.

At the meeting, the SME sector proposed strengthening communication to promote policies reflecting the realities of the root industry and enhancing the 'large and small enterprise win-win cooperation' section of the K-ESG indicators being prepared by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Minister Moon said, "We will promote policies through closer communication with the root industry and actively collect industry opinions during the revision process of subordinate laws such as the enforcement decree of the Root Industry Act in the second half of the year. We are also reviewing the inclusion of win-win growth evaluation indices and supply chain ESG cooperation in the K-ESG guidelines."

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