People Power Party "Pursuing 4.5-Day Workweek... Work 4 Hours on Friday and Leave"

"Abolition of the 52-Hour Workweek Also to Be Pursued"

The People Power Party announced on the 14th that it will incorporate a 4.5-day workweek utilizing flexible working hours into its presidential election pledges.

At the emergency committee meeting that day, Emergency Committee Chairman Kwon Young-se introduced the case of Jung-gu Office in Ulsan, which is piloting the 4.5-day workweek, and made this statement.

Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 10th. 2025.4.10 Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Chairman Kwon explained, "From Monday to Thursday, employees work 8 hours plus an additional hour each day, and on Friday, they work only 4 hours before leaving," adding, "Since the total working hours do not decrease, there is no change in salary."

The People Power Party plans to review various options for the 4.5-day workweek and reflect them in its presidential election pledges. Chairman Kwon said, "Maintaining the existing 5-day workweek system while allowing flexible time allocation to achieve a 4.5-day workweek can be considered a realistic alternative," and added, "However, it is also clear that even if flexible working hours are introduced, improvements in productivity and efficiency must be a prerequisite."

Regarding the 4-day and 4.5-day workweek policies proposed by the Democratic Party of Korea, he criticized, "These are unrealistic and populist policies that aim to maintain salaries as they are, which could rather cause significant confusion in the labor market," and said, "They have failed to provide a convincing explanation against the criticism that it is common sense that reducing working hours should lead to reduced pay."

The People Power Party also announced plans to push for the abolition of the 52-hour workweek system. Chairman Kwon elaborated, "The 5-day workweek and the 52-hour workweek regulations are uniform systems that do not reflect the trends of the times and the diversity of industries, and they are obstacles to establishing a flexible work culture," adding, "We will closely analyze industries where productivity is declining due to the 52-hour regulation, especially in advanced industries such as semiconductors, and prepare practical institutional improvement measures."