Kwon Seong-dong Targets Semiconductor Law Excluding 52-Hour Workweek Exception as Lee Jae-myung's Right-Wing Shift, "Seedless Watermelon"

Kwon Seong-dong: "The 52-hour Workweek Exception Is the Core of the Semiconductor Act"
"Retirement Age Extension Must Be Accompanied by Wage System Reform"

On the 7th, Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, fiercely criticized recent policies pushed by the Democratic Party of Korea, such as promoting the Semiconductor Special Act without the 52-hour workweek exception clause and extending the retirement age without restructuring the wage system, calling them "a public deception omitting the core, and a seedless watermelon that reveals the true nature of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader's rightward shift."

At the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, Floor Leader Kwon pointed out, "Yesterday, the Democratic Party declared that they would process the Semiconductor Special Act without the 52-hour workweek exception clause. The core that the industrial field needs is the exception clause for the 52-hour workweek, so what meaning does the Semiconductor Special Act have if the core is removed?"

Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, is attending the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 7th. 2025.2.7 Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Regarding the proposal to discuss extending the retirement age, he said, "Lee Jae-myung's faction preaches inclusion and unity upfront but stirs up generational conflict behind the scenes," and criticized, "If the current labor market wage system, where those reaching retirement age receive nearly three times the pay of young workers, is not changed and only the retirement age is extended, it will inevitably harm youth employment."

Floor Leader Kwon argued that labor reforms to secure employment flexibility should be discussed simultaneously with extending the retirement age. He emphasized, "Only if the retirement age extension is perceived as fair by the 2030 youth can both the younger and middle-aged generations achieve a win-win outcome," adding, "Since the end of last year, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions has insisted on extending only the retirement age while maintaining employment forms. This is merely an appeasement of the KCTU in response to Lee Jae-myung's recent rightward shift."

Regarding the Democratic Party's demand to start with parametric reform for pension reform, he criticized, "The reality is that pension finances will be depleted in 30 years. However, if only parametric reform is done without structural reform as the Democratic Party claims, it will only delay the depletion of finances by 7 to 8 years at best and will not be a fundamental solution," adding, "The 2030 youth now may end up paying into the pension system without receiving benefits. They are left with debt and an uncertain future."