Yoon's '120-Hour Workweek Comment' Controversy... "Do You Have Any Sense?" "Please Study Properly Before Speaking" Flood of Criticism

Yeo: "If it was meant to criticize government labor policy, it's a fail"
Lee Nak-yeon side: "Careless remarks only make the people suffer more"
Cho Kuk: "A proposal opening the horizon of mass overwork deaths"
Yeo Young-guk: "Try campaigning 120 hours without rest first"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Criticism is pouring in regarding former Prosecutor General and opposition presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol's statement that "one should work intensely for 120 hours a week and then be able to rest freely." Yoon later clarified that his intention was to allow exceptions to the 52-hour workweek system so that people could work intensively, but ruling party members strongly criticized him, saying, "Study properly."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 20th, the Democratic Party of Korea harshly criticized Yoon's '120-hour workweek' remark made in an interview with the media, saying, "If it was simply meant to criticize the government's labor policy, it is a failing grade."

Floor spokesperson Han Jun-ho said in a press briefing, "We have no idea which era this person is living in," and added, "It only seems like a statement focusing on 'growth' and 'competition' rather than the value of labor or workers' human rights." He then pointed out, "If you are running for president, study properly before coming out."

The camp of former Democratic Party leader and presidential candidate Lee Nak-yeon also issued a statement targeting Yoon on the same day.

Spokesperson Bae Jae-jung said, "Working 120 hours a week? Is Yoon really thinking when he speaks?" and criticized, "120 hours means working five days a week without sleeping or resting even for a moment. The public asks if he means not to eat or even go to the bathroom."

Bae explained, "The 52-hour workweek system was a national policy promoted by the Moon Jae-in administration to achieve work-life balance and to overcome a society of overwork," and added, "The international community has even expressed surprise that advanced countries like Korea have been working more than 52 hours a week."

He continued, "It has already been 100 years since the International Labour Organization (ILO) declared an 8-hour workday as a basic human right for workers," and criticized, "Every careless word from Yoon is making the people, already exhausted by heat and COVID-19, suffer even more."

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk mocked the statement as "a proposal opening the horizon for mass overwork deaths," and Justice Party leader Yeo Young-guk responded, "It is surprising that he thinks he can become president with such an idea." Quoting Yoon's statement about 'working intensely for 120 hours and then resting,' Yeo sharply said, "Please try campaigning intensively for 120 hours without resting first."