Can the Semiconductor Special Act Pass Fast-Track Without the '52-Hour Workweek Exception'?

Published 06 Jan.2025 14:21(KST)

The 'Semiconductor Special Act' has been placed on the practical negotiation table of the ruling and opposition parties and government policy consultation body, raising expectations as discussions are underway for its passage within January. However, difficulties are anticipated as the ruling and opposition parties have failed to narrow their differences over whether to allow an exception to the 52-hour workweek system for research and development (R&D) personnel, which is the core of the bill. The Democratic Party of Korea intends to pass the bill excluding the 52-hour workweek exception clause, but the People Power Party and related industries have expressed concerns about this.

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The 'Semiconductor Special Act' (Special Act for Strengthening Competitiveness and Innovative Growth of the Semiconductor Industry) is a bill jointly proposed by Lee Cheol-gyu, a member of the People Power Party and the Industry Committee, which includes provisions allowing an exception to the 52-hour workweek system in the new technology R&D sector based on labor-management agreement. The People Power Party argues that labor hour regulations for research personnel in the semiconductor industry should be relaxed, but the Democratic Party maintains its stance that this is unacceptable. Although the ruling and opposition parties initially reached some consensus on the Semiconductor Special Act, the bill's passage has been delayed due to disagreements over the 52-hour workweek exception for R&D personnel.

Ko Dong-jin, a People Power Party lawmaker and former president of Samsung Electronics, emphasized the necessity of the 52-hour workweek exception clause in a Facebook post titled 'The Semiconductor Special Act is not a matter of political advantage or disadvantage' in November last year. Lawmaker Ko stated, "Semiconductor R&D involves high technical difficulty such as fine processes and high-density integrated circuit design, making long working hours inevitable," and added, "Since multiple product developments must be carried out simultaneously, securing flexibility in working hours for key engineers is urgent."

Choi Su-jin, a People Power Party lawmaker and former CEO of a bio company, also proposed a revision to the Labor Standards Act on the 24th to exclude the 52-hour workweek system for R&D positions within the top 5% of income earners across all industries. In a phone interview with Legal Times, Lawmaker Choi said, "The related industries have long been appealing to allow researchers to work longer hours," and emphasized, "Since they receive high compensation, it is natural for them to work more if they wish. This bill allows researchers to work freely outside the 52-hour framework only for research positions," adding, "This will increase researchers' satisfaction and performance."

Related industries have also pointed out significant difficulties caused by the implementation of the 52-hour workweek system. According to the 'Advanced Strategic Industry Regulation Perception Survey' released by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the 25th, among 433 advanced companies surveyed, 29.6% responded that 'R&D and technical regulations' should be prioritized for improvement, and 17.8% of companies citing 'personnel regulations' noted, "Due to the nature of advanced strategic industries, securing skilled professional personnel is essential, but the implementation of the 52-hour workweek system imposes many practical constraints."

Ahn Hyun, President of Development at SK Hynix, also said at the Korea Academy of Engineering's 'Semiconductor Special Committee Research Results' presentation recently, "From an engineer's perspective, semiconductor development requires acceleration and inertia," and added, "While the 52-hour workweek is a good system, there are concerns that it might create some negative habits or practices in development or special activities."

The United States has already implemented the 'White Collar Exemption' system since 1939, excluding high-income professionals from labor hour regulations, and Japan introduced the 'Highly Professional System' in 2019, recognizing professionals with annual income exceeding 10.75 million yen (approximately 99 million won) as exempt from labor hour regulations.

However, labor unions and the Democratic Party strongly oppose this, calling it a 'restoration of long working hours system.' The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions criticized the Semiconductor Special Act in a statement last November as "an anti-labor evil law aimed at giving favors to conglomerates and restoring long working hours system."

The Democratic Party plans to decide on the passage of livelihood bills through ruling and opposition consultations by early January, and if an agreement with the ruling party fails, it is also considering passing some bills, including the Semiconductor Special Act excluding the 52-hour workweek exception clause, via the fast-track procedure. Lee Jung-moon, senior deputy director of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee, said on the 31st of last month, "Urgent bills such as the Semiconductor Industry Support Act and the National Agency Power Grid Expansion Act are stagnating even in the Industry Committee," and added, "If the People Power Party avoids legislative discussions, we will consider extraordinary measures including designating the bills as fast-track."