Small and Medium Enterprises Appeal to Yoon Government for Labor Reform: "Why Force People to Work Two Jobs?"

Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector identified labor reforms, including the revision of the 52-hour workweek system, as a key challenge for the second year of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

On the 6th, Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, held a press briefing at the Federation's office in Yeouido, Seoul, and announced the "SME Policy Tasks for the Second Year of the Yoon Suk-yeol Government."

The Federation proposed six major areas that the government should promote to restore the dynamism of SMEs. These six areas are △ promoting employment-friendly labor reforms △ establishing a culture of coexistence between large and small businesses △ promoting SME growth and investment △ advancing SME financial policies △ revitalizing SME exports △ and transforming cooperatives into growth platforms for SMEs.

In particular, regarding labor reform, they suggested flexibilization of the 52-hour workweek system, permanent application of an additional 8-hour extended work system, and abolition of the foreign worker quota system.

Chairman Kim emphasized, "It is truly frustrating why workers who want to work are unable to do so and have to take on second jobs," adding, "Employers disguised as workers through union forms, engaging in illegal strikes and protests, must be dealt with strictly."

On this day, the Federation released the results of a survey conducted from the 17th to the 28th of last month targeting 500 SMEs. In this survey, SME owners identified the most urgent issues facing the Korean economy as a rigid labor market (34.0%), worsening low birthrate and aging population (20.8%), and excessive regulations (19.4%).

The immediate difficulties faced by SMEs (multiple responses allowed) included rising raw material prices (47.0%), worsening labor shortages (46.4%), and increasing labor costs (39.8%).

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