Sim Sang-jung: "4-Day Workweek Is the Trend Among Trends"... Opposition Party Says "Opposed"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Sim Sang-jung, the presidential candidate of the Justice Party, stated on the 1st, "The four-day workweek has already been (dice) rolled. The spirit of the times is determined by the people, and these days, the 'four-day workweek' is the trend among trends."

After registering as a preliminary presidential candidate, Sim visited the office of the IBK Financial Union branch at the IBK Corporate Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, for her first policy-related field activity of the day and made these remarks. The four-day workweek is one of Sim's key pledges, and IBK Corporate Bank is among the national policy banks pushing to introduce the four-day workweek.

Sim said, "Starting today, we will begin collecting public opinions to realize a 'Four-Day Workweek Korea,'" adding, "We plan to broadly gather opinions by meeting with labor and management of companies promoting the four-day workweek, small and medium enterprises, workplaces with fewer than five employees, self-employed individuals, and representatives of labor and economic organizations."

She continued, "In the past, when the five-day workweek was introduced, people said Korea would collapse. However, over the past 20 years, the Korean economy has rapidly grown," and said, "Some say the four-day workweek is premature, but I believe now is the right time."

Sim cited the reasons for the necessity of the four-day workweek as being ▲ a strategy for the With-Corona era ▲ a strategy for quality jobs that reduce unequal labor gaps ▲ a strategy to overcome the climate crisis by reducing traffic volume.

Regarding Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, who showed a positive response to the four-day workweek, she commented, "Isn't he just testing the waters?" and added, "I hope his campaign manages it and presents it as a responsible pledge."

Meanwhile, presidential candidates from the People Power Party have generally expressed negative opinions about the four-day workweek. Representative Hong Joon-pyo said, "In the AI (artificial intelligence) era, we will be able to work less and earn more," but evaluated that it is premature to apply the four-day workweek across society. Former Representative Yoo Seung-min also criticized on Facebook, "We are still far from settling the 52-hour workweek, yet the four-day workweek is being proposed," and said, "It is obvious that workers' incomes will only decrease." Former Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong described it as "a typical populism for the public sector, large corporations, and privileged unions," warning, "If hastily implemented, it will cause problems such as decreased productivity and labor market dualization."

People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok also stated at the party's supreme council meeting on the 28th of last month, "The 2030 generation, that is, the future generation, does not support him, and in a rush to gain their votes, he is tempting them by implementing the four-day workweek."

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