[Q&A] Son Kyung-sik: "69-Hour Workweek, No Fault in Content but..."

Sohn Kyung-shik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, New Year Meeting
"Lack of Explanation Makes It Difficult for the Public to Understand"
Focus This Year on Labor Reform and Postponement of the Application of the Serious Accident Punishment Act

On the 5th, Sohn Kyung-shik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, gave a greeting speech at the 2024 Labor-Management-Government New Year's Meeting held at Seoul Central Post Office. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

Son Kyung-sik, chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, emphasized that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration played a significant role in establishing legal order in labor policies last year. Regarding the 69-hour workweek issue, he stated that while the government's policy direction was impeccable, the lack of explanation prevented its implementation.

Chairman Son made these remarks during a meeting held on the 29th at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. With his term ending at the end of next month, Son identified labor reform as the key task he would focus on if reappointed. He believes that although the Yoon administration established legal order last year, domestic labor-management relations remain poor.

He particularly mentioned the working hours issue to advance the labor market. Son said, "The 69-hour workweek system was discussed last year, but due to insufficient explanation, it was difficult for the public to understand," adding, "The content itself was beyond reproach."

Below is a Q&A with Chairman Son.

- You have expressed the need to postpone the application of the Serious Accident Punishment Act. If it is not passed at the National Assembly plenary session on the 1st of next month, how will you respond actively?

▲ The issue of applying the Serious Accident Punishment Act to small and micro enterprises with fewer than 50 employees is not simple. If the CEO of a microenterprise is detained due to a serious accident, the company collapses. The workers there also lose their jobs, so this is a very important issue. Therefore, we will continue to demand amendments to the law.

- As a senior figure in the economic community, you have been very active. If reappointed, what will be the main focus during your next term?

▲ What I will do after my term depends entirely on the will of our member companies, and I plan to follow that. The most important thing is to achieve progress in labor reform. Our country's labor-management relations are among the worst in the world. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) and various research institutions, Korea's labor-management relations are the most deteriorated. In such a situation, it is difficult for companies with international competitiveness to emerge. I believe labor reform should be the top priority and its results must be seen.

Recently, there have been many efforts to expand dialogue between labor and management. The important thing is for the government to step up and set the right direction. Since the establishment of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, significant work has been done. I am very grateful that President Yoon has established legal order at labor dispute sites. I see this as a major advancement in labor issues.

In addition, the Korea Employers Federation will take the lead in solving various other problems. Labor reform must gain public sympathy, and we will strive for that.

- Specifically, what agenda does the Korea Employers Federation see as urgent for advancing the labor market?

▲ Everything is important. There is nothing less important. On a smaller scale, there is the (69-hour) working hours issue. It was discussed previously but then withdrawn. I think this was because the explanation was insufficient, making it difficult for the public to understand. The content itself was beyond reproach. We are trying to secure sufficient labor flexibility to open an era of advanced labor culture.

- At the National Assembly plenary session on the 1st of next month, the opposition party insists that the extension of the postponement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act's application is possible if the Industrial Safety and Health Agency is established. What do you think about this? You emphasized prevention over punishment; then, what parts of the amendment do you think should be supplemented?

▲ The establishment of the Safety Agency is one of the matters to be reviewed together. The important issue is how to prevent accidents. The idea that punishment prevents accidents is a complacent thought.

Activities to prevent serious accidents are very important. The Korea Employers Federation also intends to focus on this point. We plan to produce and distribute manuals and provide pre-consultations. Prevention efforts have been weak so far. I want to visit construction sites to check whether work is being done according to the manuals. I think there are somewhat many vulnerabilities.

- How do you respond to criticism that the government and business community's response to the Serious Accident Punishment Act was too inadequate?

= I cannot agree with the opposition party's claim that prevention can be achieved through punishment. This government has announced a plan to train 20,000 accident prevention personnel with a budget of 1.5 trillion won. I also strongly support this. I believe such efforts must succeed. In prevention activities, the development of management personnel is essential. I think manuals must be strictly applied through such people.

- There is a general election this year. How do you plan to meet with party leaders and provide economic advice?

▲ (Lee Dong-geun, Korea Employers Federation Senior Vice President) We have delivered or will deliver economic-related election pledges. We have already met individually with the leaders of the two major parties to convey the difficulties faced by the economic community.

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