The administration of South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol wants to allow people to work up to 69 hours a week - up from the current 52 - and bank overtime hours in exchange for time off, a plan it hopes will promote family growth alongside productivity.
The government says the plan, set to be announced next month, will provide more flexibility in the labour market. Officials say people would work less as a whole, encouraging them to have families and shore up a fertility rate that is projected to hit a global-low 0.7 in 2024.
The proposal would allow employers and workers to agree on whether to count overtime by the week, with 12 hours allowed; the month, with 52 hours allowed; the quarter, with 140 hours allowed; a half year, with 250 hours; or a full year, with 440 hours of overtime allowed. The law must be passed by the National Assembly, where Yoon's political opponents hold the majority. Opposition politicians have said they oppose the plan, with Rep. Park Yong-jin of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea calling it a "shortcut to population extinction".
The move has been welcomed by the country’s major business lobbying groups, including the Korea Enterprise Federation, which described it as “necessary”. But some experts are sceptical that the new proposal would reduce how much people work. Extending working hours, even temporarily, affects women more than men, said Lee Min-Ah, Professor of Sociology at Chung-Ang University.
Lee Yoon-sun, a 29-year-old office worker, said working high-intensity hours and then taking time off would be disruptive.
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