The Reorganization of the Working Hours System

written by 10328 Hwang Yerin

 

 

The Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that the working hours system would be reorganized on March 6th. So there are many considerations about the reorganization in Korean society. 

 In Korea, a total of 52 hours, 40 hours of basic statutory working hours, and 12 hours of overtime for a week after an agreement between the worker and the company was made. The 69-hour workweek system refers to a system in which the maximum working hours per week are increased to 69 hours, but the subsequent working hours are reduced by the amount of overtime worked over 52 hours or compensated with leave.

People know it as ‘69 hours working time’. It is true but there are some misunderstandings. The reorganization plan maintains the frame of '52 hours per week' (basic 40 hours + maximum 12 hours of overtime). And workers and employers are allowed to operate working hours on a monthly/quarterly/yearly basis. So, every week, it is possible to work 69 hours. 

 After the MOEL announced the reorganization plan, there have been many considerations. The companies welcome this because they can make working hours flexible, but they showed disagreement about the break of 11 hours in a row. The laborers expressed consideration about overwork and the night shift.