S. Korea's 41/2-day work week plan draws business concerns

The South Korean government is pushing ahead with a 41/2-day working week, a flagship campaign pledge of President Lee Jae Myung, drawing concern from the business community, which warns that reduced hours could undermine productivity and drive up costs.

- 

On the campaign trail, Mr Lee proposed reducing the statutory working week from 40 hours to 36 hours without a pay cut, with a goal of bringing South Korea’s average annual working hours below the OECD average of 1,742 hours by 2030.

The average South Korean worked 1,874 hours a year in 2023. Mr Lee is ultimately aiming for a four-day working week, or 32 hours of work a week.

The Ministry of Government Legislation said last week that it plans to submit a new Bill to reduce working hours to the National Assembly by the end of 2025 as part of 123 planned government legislative initiatives.

The new legislation, tentatively called the Reduced Working Hours Support Act, is expected to introduce subsidies and tax breaks for companies that adopt shorter hours.

The Ministry of Employment and Labour on Sept 24 launched a tripartite task force consisting of labour unions, business groups and government agencies to come up with a road map for cutting hours.