Presidential Office: "No Unilateral Push on Working Hours... Will Create Improvement Plan with Public Consensus"

Government Announces Results of Face-to-Face Survey on Working Hours
Expresses Relief at Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' Willingness to Dialogue... Hopes for Return to Economic and Social Council

On the 13th, the Presidential Office stated regarding the government's announcement of the survey results on the working hours reform plan, "The government will closely examine the actual conditions in the labor field and engage in sufficient dialogue with both labor and management sides to prepare improvement measures that many citizens can agree with."

Although the government announced that it would maintain the 52-hour workweek system and proceed in the direction of preparing improvement measures only for certain industries and occupations based on the survey results, this is interpreted as an intention not to cause friction, given the potential opposition from labor and management sectors.

Lee Do-woon, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, said at a briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office in the afternoon, "Because the working hours system has a significant impact on citizens' lives and health, the government cannot unilaterally push forward with this issue."

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the results of a face-to-face survey on working hours conducted from June to August with 6,030 citizens and the direction of system reform reflecting these results on the same day.

In March, the government announced a reform plan to flexibilize the unit of extended working hours from the current 'week' to 'month, quarter, half-year, year,' but reconsidered it after strong backlash. Under the proposed reform at that time, the maximum weekly working hours could increase up to 69 hours.

In this survey targeting 3,839 workers, 976 employers, and 1,215 citizens, it was found that the current 52-hour workweek system (40 hours basic + 12 hours extended work) has been largely established, but some industries and occupations are experiencing difficulties.

Additionally, 41.4% of workers, 38.2% of employers, and 46.4% of citizens agreed with expanding the unit of extended working hours to allow "working more when busy and less when not, keeping the average weekly extended working hours under 12 hours." The agreement rate increased when applying this to certain industries and occupations (workers 43.0%, employers 47.5%, citizens 54.4%).

The industries most considered in need of expanding the extended working hours unit were "manufacturing," and the occupations were "installation, equipment, and production positions."

However, Lee Sung-hee, Vice Minister of Employment and Labor, also stated while announcing the survey results, "I am conveying that these are the opinions of the public and labor-management sides, and when improving the system, decisions should be made through social dialogue among labor, management, and government."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Presidential Office also gave a positive evaluation of the Korea Federation of Trade Unions' willingness to engage in dialogue.

Earlier, Kim Dong-myeong, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Trade Unions, criticized the Yoon Seok-yeol administration for excluding workers at the National Workers' Rally on the 11th but stated, "The Korea Federation of Trade Unions, as an economic actor in Korean society, will always engage in dialogue and negotiations with a responsible attitude regarding national issues and urgent matters."

The spokesperson welcomed this, saying, "It is fortunate that the Korea Federation of Trade Unions has shown a forward-looking willingness to engage in dialogue as a responsible social actor."

He added, "The Korea Federation of Trade Unions is a representative labor organization that constitutes one axis of social dialogue. It is regrettable that they are currently suspending participation in the Economic, Social and Labor Council (ESLC)."

Furthermore, he emphasized, "In a situation where urgent issues such as the dual structure of the labor market, low birthrate and aging population, including working hours, are widespread, the disruption of social dialogue does not benefit any of the labor, management, or government parties. We hope the Korea Federation of Trade Unions will promptly return to social dialogue and discuss various issues including working hours together. The government will also do its best."

Meanwhile, when asked by a reporter whether President Yoon plans to meet directly with the labor sector, a Presidential Office official replied, "We will open the door to dialogue step by step in an orderly manner."

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