Yoon's "120 Hours" Remark Draws Jo Guk's Comment: "A Proposal Opening the 'Horizon' of Mass Overwork Deaths"

Photo by Jo Guk, former Minister of Justice, captured from Twitter

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim So-young] Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk sarcastically referred to the '120 hours' mentioned by former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol in his criticism of the '52-hour workweek' as "a proposal that opens the 'horizon' of mass overwork deaths."

On the 20th, Cho stated on his Twitter, "120 hours ÷ 5 (5-day workweek) = 24 hours of work per day," expressing this view.

He also shared a cartoon with the phrase, "You have to work 24 hours straight from Monday to Friday to reach 120 hours. If you really want to do something big, please think before you speak," in another post.

Regarding former Prosecutor General Yoon's remark that "criminal law should be revised to recognize corporate criminal liability by imposing heavy fines on corporations rather than punishing individuals," Cho criticized, "Yoon Seok-yeol is parroting the wishes of chaebol owner families," adding, "This is evidence that his conservative right-wing stance is being enforced in the economic sector as well."

He continued, "If the law is revised as he proposes, imposing heavy fines only on corporations without punishing the owners or CEOs who effectively control the corporations, corporate crimes will never be eradicated," emphasizing, "It is difficult to control illegal acts of owners and CEOs with fines on corporations alone."

He further pointed out, "The damage caused by paying fines can be immediately compensated by boosting stock prices, raising product prices, or cutting wages, so they are not afraid at all," and criticized, "In the liberal democratic countries Yoon often emphasizes, owners and CEOs who commit corporate crimes such as tax evasion, accounting fraud, insider trading, and embezzlement of corporate funds receive heavy sentences dozens of times harsher than in Korea."

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who declared his candidacy for the presidential election, is delivering a greeting at a meeting with officials from institutions and companies in the artificial intelligence field at the Artificial Intelligence Academy in Buk-gu, Gwangju, on the afternoon of the 17th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, on the 19th, former Prosecutor General Yoon criticized the '52-hour workweek' as a "failed policy" in an interview with Maeil Business Newspaper, explaining, "The current government claimed that the 52-hour workweek would create jobs, but statistics show that the job growth rate (based on last year's small and medium enterprises) is only 0.1%."

He stated, "Working conditions should prioritize agreements between parties rather than unilateral government regulations," and added, "If flexible use is allowed on an annual basis or at least every six months, corporate creativity and efficiency will increase, and workers will also be satisfied."

He continued, "When I met startup youths, they complained that exceptions should be made to the 52-hour workweek so that workers can agree on or choose their conditions," saying, "To develop a single game, they need to work intensely not just 52 hours a week but even 120 hours a week, and then be able to rest freely afterward."

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