85% of Companies Say Legislation Needed for Flexible Working Hours and Dismissal System Reform

Korea Employers Federation's Survey on "Legislation Hoped from the 22nd National Assembly"
84.6% Responded on the Need for Labor Reform Promotion
Calls for Prohibition of Workplace Occupation...Concerns over Four-Day Workweek Also Raised

A survey revealed that 85% of domestic companies hope for labor reform legislation in the 22nd National Assembly aimed at flexibilizing working hours and improving the current dismissal system.

The Korea Employers Federation (KEF) announced on the 8th that it conducted a 'Survey on Employment and Labor Legislation Desired from the 22nd National Assembly' targeting executives from 200 companies, yielding these results.

According to the survey, 84.6% of responding companies (55.2% promoting, 29.4% actively promoting) stated that the 22nd National Assembly should pursue labor reform legislation to enhance labor market flexibility and advance labor-management relations.

Provided by Korea Employers Federation

There was also a strong voice for expediting the timing of the initiative. Among respondents who said it should be promoted, 58.8% answered that it should be gradually promoted after the formation of the National Assembly but completed within the year. Additionally, 20.6% responded that it should be promoted immediately after the formation of the National Assembly.

The labor reform task most desired by company executives was "expanding flexibility in working hours operation (55.9%)." This was followed by ▲improving the dismissal system and easing employment rigidity (29.9%) ▲relaxing regulations related to dispatch and fixed-term employment (12.5%) ▲others (1.7%) in order.

When asked about bills for advancing labor-management relations, the most common response (31.1%) was allowing replacement labor during disputes. Other responses included ▲complete prohibition of workplace occupation (24.5%) ▲improvement of the dispute approval voting system (22.6%) ▲abolition of criminal punishment for unfair labor practices (20.6%) in that order.

Regarding the recently emerging topic of the four-day workweek, respondents showed reluctance. The legislation most feared to negatively impact the labor market and labor-management relations if pursued in the 22nd National Assembly was the "four-day or four-and-a-half-day workweek (34.3%)."

Jang Jeong-woo, head of the Labor-Management Cooperation Division at KEF, said, "Labor reform is essential for rapid industrial structural changes and job creation for future generations," urging, "We ask the National Assembly to actively work on labor reform legislation to increase labor market flexibility and advance labor-management relations."

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