SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Five years after the implementation of South Korea’s 52-hour workweek, three out of four corporate research divisions report declining research and development (R&D) performance, according to a new survey. The findings, released on February 16 by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in collaboration with the Korea Industrial [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – The government will relax the maximum 52-hour weekly work hours for certain business sectors with heavy workloads, officials said Monday. “While retaining the 52-hour workweek system, the government plans to come up with reform measures for certain types of industries and occupations,” Vice Labor Minister Lee Sung-hee said. The [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — The National Human Rights Commission has voiced objections to the government’s push to loosen the 52-hour limit on weekly work hours, a report showed Friday. The Yoon Suk-yeol government is seeking to introduce flexibility to the 52-hour workweek system adopted in 2018 by the previous Moon Jae-in administration so [...]
SEOUL, June 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s smaller forms on Monday called for a further delay in enforcing the 52-hour workweek system for them set to take effect next month amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic. In a joint statement, the country’s business lobby groups, such as the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and [...]
SEOUL, March 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean prisoners who typically work in a variety of prison-support jobs will now be subject to the government’s recent 52-hour workweek initiative. On Thursday, the Ministry of Justice released an advance legislation notice for a revision of the law on the execution of sentences and the treatment of [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea introduced a new regulation Friday allowing an exemption from the 52-hour workweek restriction for institutes involved in crucial research projects or companies that see workloads unexpectedly surge. The Ministry of Employment and Labor proclaimed the revised enforcement rule of the Labor Standards Act, which loosened the requirements [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Starting next year, the government-imposed 52-hour workweek will also be implemented for small and medium-sized enterprises. But reasonable work hours remain nothing more than a pipe dream for the Dongdaemun clothing industry, industry workers say in unison. In other words, even if a company does not follow the law, [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea plans to apply a grace period for smaller firms in adopting the 52-hour workweek system, the labor minister said Monday, reflecting concerns over financial costs and a legislative deadlock at the National Assembly. “In the case (the policies) are not legislated, the government will push for all [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans are not fully able to use their leisure time despite having more time on their hands thanks to the 52-hour workweek, a poll showed Friday. Macromill Embrain surveyed 1,000 people between the ages of 19 and 59, 70 percent of whom said they had more time off, [...]
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 [...]