Minister Lee Jeong-sik Holds Meeting with Five Economic Organizations
Focuses on Gathering Opinions on Flexible Working Hours
KEF "Labor Sector Distorts 69-Hour Workweek"
"Comprehensive Wage Abuse Needs Improvement"
Lee Jeong-sik, Minister of Employment and Labor, met with business leaders and urged them to cooperate in eradicating unreasonable practices such as "free overtime" and creating a culture of freely using vacation and leave to ensure the government's "working hours system reform plan" is well implemented.
The business community criticized the labor sector for distorting the government's reform plan as "69 hours per week," but responded that they would cooperate in improving the practice of "free labor" and reducing South Korea's overall long working hours, which are among the longest in the world.
Employment Minister Meets Business Leaders to Gather Opinions on Working Hours Reform
On the morning of the 28th, Minister Lee held a meeting with vice presidents of the five major economic organizations at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, to discuss key labor issues including the government's recently announced working hours system reform plan.
The meeting was attended by Lee Dong-geun, Vice President of the Korea Employers Federation; Woo Tae-hee, Vice President of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Jeong Man-gi, Vice President of the Korea International Trade Association; Jeong Yun-mo, Vice President of the Korea Federation of SMEs; Lee Ho-jun, Vice President of the Korea Federation of Mid-sized Enterprises; and Professor Kwon Soon-won of Sookmyung Women's University, who chaired the Future Labor Market Research Group that developed the working hours reform plan.
Minister Lee had been gathering opinions from young workers and others after deciding to review the working hours reform plan announced on the 6th, which sparked public backlash due to controversy over "69 hours per week" work. This meeting is interpreted as an effort to hear opinions not only from the labor sector but also from the business community.
Minister Lee explained, "Recently, the government announced the working hours system reform plan, which is a core part of modernizing labor standards. We expected that easing the rigidity of the working hours system and eradicating unfair practices such as free labor would enhance corporate competitiveness and create a win-win situation for both labor and management. However, there are concerns in the field about whether working hours will actually decrease or rather increase."
Mention of 'Satirical YouTube'... "Shows Public Concerns"
In particular, Minister Lee referred to the recent viral video titled "Overtime, Overtime, Overtime, Overtime, Overtime, Hospital, Fainting" posted by the YouTube channel "Neodeolt," which satirizes the government reform plan, saying, "I think it shows the significant concerns and anxieties that the public feels about our labor environment."
Minister Lee emphasized that the core of labor reform is to root out illegal and irregular practices in the field and create a better working environment for future generations and the public. He asked the business community to cooperate so that the policy of relaxing the existing "52-hour workweek" and making working hours more flexible can gain public support.
He said, "I urge the business community to make multifaceted efforts to eradicate illegal and irregular practices remaining in the field and to create a working environment where future generations and the public can work comfortably based on public trust." He added, "If fair compensation is not provided for actual work due to the misuse of the comprehensive wage system, the wage system should be reformed to resolve unfairness, and efforts should be made to spread transparent working hours recording and management."
He continued, "I hope you will work to reform working methods and corporate culture from the perspective of the younger generation, who are the future leaders. Efforts should also be made to substantially reduce working hours through creating an environment where employees can freely take vacation and leave without hesitation, innovating corporate culture such as refraining from work-related contacts after leaving work, and improving working methods suitable for the digital age."
Minister Lee particularly urged the business community to view the use of maternity protection systems such as maternity leave and parental leave not merely as a cost issue but as a responsible social role to help solve the urgent problem of low birth rates.
He added, "If corporate compliance awareness spreads and systematic, rational personnel and labor management creates an environment where people can work with peace of mind, companies will also attract talented personnel and increase work productivity, becoming a driving force for sustainable growth."
Lee Dong-geun, Executive Vice President of the Korea Employers Federation, is speaking at the meeting of senior executives in charge of human resources and labor of major companies held on the 15th at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Photo by Yonhap News]
KEF: "Urgent Need to Improve Working Hours System... Labor Sector Distorts Facts"
On this day, the business community pointed out that the perception of the government's reform plan as "69 hours per week" is due to distortion by the labor sector and emphasized that the existing policy of working hours flexibility should continue.
Lee Dong-geun, Vice President of the Korea Employers Federation (KEF), said, "Improving the working hours system is an urgent reform task," adding, "The current system, which limits the standard workweek to 40 hours and overtime to 12 hours per week, makes it difficult to respond to sudden increases or irregular work in sectors such as IT, startups, and contract industries."
Vice President Lee criticized the labor sector for opposing the reform by distorting it as a 69-hour system, saying, "However, the purpose of this reform is not to increase working hours but to find ways to use time more efficiently. Extreme cases should not be generalized and distorted."
"Comprehensive Wage System Misuse to Be Improved... Active Guidance"
However, Vice President Lee agreed that South Korea has long working hours and that working hours should be gradually reduced. He explained that they will work with the labor sector to activate vacations such as bridge holidays, long summer vacations, and year-end holidays.
Regarding the comprehensive wage system, criticized as a cause of "free labor," he said, "It is a system operated by labor-management agreement where allowances are paid even if the agreed hours are not met," but added, "If allowances are not paid despite actual long working hours, this problem should be improved, and the business community will actively provide guidance."
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