| The liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)'s presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung, center, visits an exhibition booth of a robot industry exhibition at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. The ruling party candidate has said that reducing work hours is an unavoidable trend in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and that the country will adopt a four-day workweek system at some point in the future. Joint Press Corps |
By Jung Da-min
Debates over the matter of introducing a four-day workweek system have risen again in political circles, ahead of the upcoming presidential election slated for March next year. Similar discussions about the feasibility of shortening the workweek were made earlier this year in April among candidates of the Seoul mayoral by-election.
The idea has again come to the fore after local broadcaster JTBC reported on Wednesday that the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung, is considering the introduction of a four-day workweek system as one of his policy promises, citing his comments to a related question.
Lee has said, “The four-day workweek system is something that should be implemented someday for a decent life and the reduction of work hours.” While serving as the governor of Gyeonggi Province, Lee introduced a four-day workweek as a pilot project through a local company.
Lee took a step back due to criticism against the idea, telling reporters at a robot industry exhibition in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, the following day that he did not mean to introduce it right away if he is elected as the next president. But Lee has made it clear that he believes the four-day workweek could be a solution to labor market concerns during the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and that the matter should be debated actively.
“If you used to have to work 10 hours a day to produce what you needed in the past, the era will soon come when you can produce what you need after working for an hour or two. In an era where innovation is important, rest and leisure become very important values,” Lee said. “In that respect, reducing work hours is an unavoidable trend in order to increase the potential for creativity and innovation.”
| The liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)'s presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung, center, visits an exhibition booth of a robot industry exhibition in the Korea International Exhibition Center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. The ruling party candidate has said that reducing work hours is an unavoidable trend in era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and that the country will adopt a four-day workweek system at some point in the future. Joint Press Corps |
The ruling party candidate said that he sees it as too early to make a promise to introduce the four-day workweek system as a national policy immediately if he is elected president, but the time has come to reduce work hours gradually, and that the country will ultimately adopt a four-day workweek system at some point.
Political watchers said that Lee's consideration of a possible introduction of a four-day workweek system in the future is in line with his other policy promises to woo supporters of the liberal bloc, such as offering a basic income for young people, farmers and fishermen, which will later be expanded to all people, and providing at least 1 million “basic homes,” which refer to public rental housing units offered at lower prices.
The conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) leader, Lee Jun-seok, criticized the ruling party candidate's review of a four-day workweek system, saying that it would encompass steep wage cuts and job losses, along with a deterioration of the working environment.
| The conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP)'s leader Lee Jun-seok, center, speaks during a Supreme Council meeting of the party at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. Joint Press Corps |
The PPP leader said during a party meeting, Thursday, that the DPK candidate was trying to attract votes from young people in their 20s and 30s by telling them that he will introduce a four-day workweek system, but that such a policy will fail, as it is “ignoring the fundamentals of economics.”
The PPP is still finalizing its presidential candidate through the party primary, which runs until Nov. 5. Among the PPP's presidential contenders, Rep. Hong Joon-pyo said, Thursday, during a conference where he announced his policy welfare promises, that he would adopt a four-day workweek system for elderly workers only to increase jobs for them by activating a flexible work hour system, but said that it is too early to introduce a four-day workweek system to everyone.
The progressive minor opposition Justice Party and its candidate Rep. Sim Sang-jeung, who has included the introduction of a four-day workweek system as one of her policy promises, said that a reduction in work hours should come without a reduction in wages, and that a four-day workweek system is the people's right when the Korean economy has reached the advanced country level.
“The four-day workweek system is to set the future-oriented working time standard for Korea, one of the countries with the longest working hours among other OECD countries. It is also about a major transformation of our socio-economic system that should encompass profit sharing between large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as income guarantees for workers under precarious conditions and the self-employed,” Shim said in a press release to reporters, Friday.
| The minor progressive opposition Justice Party's presidential candidate, Rep. Sim Sang-jeung, right, speaks during a party meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Joint Press Corps |