Gwanghwamun area in central Seoul. (Image: Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — A government research indicated Wednesday a shorter workweek system introduced last year has reduced the daily work hours in Seoul’s central office district of Gwanghwamun by nearly 40 minutes.
The labor ministry released the results of a big data analysis of workers’ hours in four major office districts in the capital region before and after the July 2018 implementation of a new rule that cut the maximum weekly work hours to 52 from 68.
The average work hours in Gwanghwamun, where many offices of large companies are located, during the period from March to May in 2019 was reduced by 39.2 minutes from the previous year, while those of Yeouido, Seoul’s financial industry center, and Pangyo, an information technology district on the outskirts of Seoul, were down 9.9 minutes and 9.7 minutes, respectively.
In contrast, Gasan Digital Complex in southwestern Seoul, consisting largely of small businesses to which the shorter workweek has yet to apply, saw the average hours increase 36 seconds.
The ministry also unveiled a study that compared credit card use in the four districts during the period between August 2018 and May 2019 with those of a year before.
The survey showed a substantial increase in spending on sports and leisure activities, with Yeouido posting the highest growth of 103.5 percent.
But spending at bars, “noraebang” (Korean karaoke) and other entertainment businesses has decreased — 18.4 percent in Pangyo and 9.3 percent in Gwanghwamun.
(Yonhap)
