Lee Jae-myung: "Working 60 to 69 Hours a Week Means 'Working to Death'"... Emphasizes 4.5-Day Workweek

On the 29th, Opposition's 'Urgent Debate on Introducing a 4.5-Day Workweek'
Lee Jae-myung "Opposed Even When the 5-Day Workweek Was Introduced...
We Must Create a Future Replacing It with High-Efficiency Labor"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized the government's labor hour reform plan that allows working up to 69 hours per week on the 29th, calling it "a claim to return to an overwork society," while emphasizing the introduction of a 4.5-day workweek.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, Lee attended an emergency forum held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building to discuss the introduction of a 4.5-day workweek, stating, "We should aim for a 4-day workweek and move toward a 4.5-day workweek."

Lee said, "While the world is moving forward, it seems that only South Korea is moving backward," adding, "Proposing to work 60 or 69 hours a week is essentially saying 'let's work ourselves to death,' and it is no different from advocating a return to an overwork society that has been criticized worldwide."

He continued, "We need to strive to at least meet the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)," and criticized, "The grim reality is that our annual working hours exceed the OECD average by a staggering 300 hours. If we regress the system from its current state, the dishonor of having the longest working hours will deepen and worsen."

He also emphasized, "Along with reducing working hours, we must reform the flawed system of the 'comprehensive wage system,' which effectively extends working hours and forces unpaid labor."

Lee said, "When we talk about a 4.5-day or 4-day workweek, it may seem like an impossible task, but there was a time in the past when people said 'let's rest once a month' and also advocated 'let's rest once a week.' We achieved a 5-day workweek with the idea of 'let's rest two days,' despite many objections at the time. Haven't we achieved the 5-day workweek now?"

He added, "Moving forward, I hope we set the 4.5-day workweek as an achievable goal and create a future where labor and industrial environments are replaced with high-efficiency work."