[The Editors' Verdict] Debate Over the 52-Hour Workweek... Can Lee Jaemyung Make a Right Turn?

There is a saying called Sadang-Orak (四當五落), which means that if you study after sleeping only 4 hours, you will get into college, but if you sleep 5 hours, you will fail. It is a simple logic that to get into the desired university, you must sleep less and study more than your competitors. The sweetest reward for examinees who reduce their sleep to study is getting accepted into their desired university. There is no reason to scold students who say they will cut back on sleep a little to study in order to enter their desired school.

The uniform 52-hour workweek limit system (the 52-hour system), which fails to reflect the characteristics of different industries, is a system that, when looked at differently, disregards the rights of workers who want to work more to achieve their goals. While setting the maximum weekly working hours at 52 hours, it failed to incorporate flexibility. The good intention of rescuing workers whose quality of life deteriorated due to long working hours through mandatory work hour restrictions has turned into a factor that lowers industrial competitiveness due to lack of flexibility. It overlooked the fact that for some industries, and depending on individual capabilities and values, 52 hours per week may be far too little time to achieve goals.

The ruling and opposition parties, who have reached a consensus on passing the Semiconductor Special Act in the February extraordinary session of the National Assembly, are now engaged in a tug-of-war over the exception to the 52-hour workweek system. The government and the People Power Party urgently appeal for the passage of the Semiconductor Act, which includes the introduction of exceptions to the 52-hour system to strengthen the competitiveness of the semiconductor industry. On the other hand, the opposition party agrees on the need to support the semiconductor industry but insists on taking more time to discuss the exclusion of certain sectors from the working hours application.

To prevent South Korea’s semiconductor competitiveness, which has a significant impact on the economy, from being stuck between the far-ahead United States and Taiwan and the rapidly catching-up China, it is essential to develop leading-edge technology. It is a natural logic that innovative development requires the dedicated time and effort of researchers. In a situation where global research and development (R&D) personnel create innovation through immersive research, if the 52-hour workweek system is judged by the industry to hinder the growth of the semiconductor sector, the government should support efforts to improve it. Companies should provide sufficient compensation to workers who work more and achieve results. That is the company’s responsibility.

Creating an environment where corporate growth is based on violations of the Labor Standards Act must no longer continue. It is also necessary to prepare measures to apply exceptions more flexibly, such as the white-collar exemption system that gradually excludes high-salary earners from work hour limits, or the selective working hours system that allows distributing working hours on other days when work is concentrated during certain periods due to industry characteristics.

It is worth considering whether the Labor Standards Act, which legally sets minimum labor conditions, is too fixated on the uniform figure of 52 hours per week without reflecting the characteristics of different industries. Delaying issues that can be resolved immediately through special laws by re-discussing provisions of the Labor Standards Act only wastes time.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who insisted on the 52-hour system, showed a progressive stance on the exception clause to the 52-hour system at the Semiconductor Special Act policy forum held on the 3rd, signaling a right turn. Will Leader Lee really be able to make a right turn this time? We hope it is not just a temporary right turn signal to secure centrist public opinion.