Democratic Party Pledges to Expand 4.5-Day Workweek Adoption... "Reduce to OECD Level by 2030"

The Democratic Party of Korea pledged on the 28th to reduce actual working hours by supporting companies that adopt a 4.5-day workweek.

Lee Gae-ho, chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee, announced through the "General Election Worker Pledge" that "by introducing and expanding the 4.5-day workweek, we will reduce working hours to below the OECD average by 2030." He stated that a daily working hour limit would be set by introducing minimum rest time, and the prohibition of the comprehensive wage system would be codified in the Labor Standards Act to eradicate long working hours and unpaid labor. However, he added that supplementary measures would be prepared to ensure that existing wages and working conditions are not deteriorated due to the ban on the comprehensive wage system. Additionally, the requirement for taking annual leave would be relaxed from the current one year to continuous employment of six months or more, an annual leave savings system would be introduced, and unfavorable treatment due to requesting or using annual leave would be prohibited.

To reduce the tax burden on workers, the basic income tax deduction per person will be increased from 1.5 million won to 2 million won, a new tax benefit will be introduced for workers’ use of sports facilities, and the scope of education tax credits will be expanded to include sports facilities, music, and art academies for elementary school children. Furthermore, a new tax credit for communication expenses will also be introduced.

Through the Regional Love Vacation System, applicants who make advance reservations for visiting regions and use local tourism infrastructure will receive 150,000 won each from the government and local governments, and a matching program will be introduced even for short “shortcut trips (tentative name)” of one or two days. The support target will be expanded to 500,000 workers in small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies. Additionally, policies supporting second houses will be promoted, such as opening future-type camping sites where car camping is possible, and considering a single homeowner as a single homeowner even when acquiring one new house in depopulated rural and fishing villages.

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