Lee Jae-myung: "We Will Prevent Regression to an Overwork Society with 69-Hour Workweeks"

"There Are Challenges Like the Dual Structure of the Labor Market"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's '69-hour workweek' on Labor Day, stating, "We will fulfill our responsibility to prevent regression into an overwork society and ensure labor rights are guaranteed in preparation for the rapidly changing labor environment."

On the 1st, Lee said on Facebook, "On the 133rd Labor Day, we will move toward a labor-respecting society where the value of sweat is honored."

He criticized, "Although workers rose up 133 years ago demanding '8-hour workdays,' in 2023 South Korea is promoting a '69-hour workweek' as national policy," adding, "The lives of citizens who work hard are in jeopardy."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He also expressed respect for "all workers who support South Korea while bearing their own burdens at this very moment," saying, "If it were not for the workers who operated sewing machines swallowing stimulants despite crushed arms and severed fingers, and the workers who melted steel with sweat shed far from home to build a manufacturing powerhouse, there would be no 10th largest economy in the world."

He pointed out, "The labor that created today's South Korea is now in crisis," and warned, "The risk of mass unemployment is increasing due to low growth and industrial transformation."

He continued, "The number of 'labor outside of labor,' such as platform workers and special employment workers, who shout 'Apply the Labor Standards Act,' not just 'Comply with the Labor Standards Act,' is increasing," adding, "Structural challenges like the dual labor market are also before us."

He promised, "We will take step by step toward a labor-respecting society where the value of sweat is fairly honored."

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