By Lee Kyung-min
Korea introduced a shorter maximum work week, Sunday, a step toward helping workers maintain a better work-life balance. Employers that fail to follow the law will face two years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won ($18,000). However, no criminal punishment is likely until the end of the year, as a six-month grace period will be granted so firms can adopt the program gradually to limit negative effects, primarily associated with maintaining corporate competitiveness. The government reduced maximum working hours to 52 working hours a week, down from 68, seeking to boost consumption and economic growth.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor said government organizations, state-run entities and large conglomerates and their affiliates with more than 300 employees will implement the revision first, and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be given an extended grace period. Businesses with between 50 and 300 workers will be subject to the law starting Jan.1, 2020. It will extend to smaller firms with between five and 50 workers on July 1, 2021.
The ministry expects little resistance from large corporations. According to a ministry survey of 3,627 companies with more than 300 workers conducted over the past two months, 59 percent said they support the adopted measure in full. SMEs will be advised to act promptly during the extended grace period. First-time violators will be given six months to correct the violation. Failure to comply will result in criminal prosecution. The ministry has hired 200 labor inspectors, with 600 more to be added to the administrative force.
However, the new work week is expected to prompt workers to demand their pay remain unchanged regardless of reduced work hours. The country's two umbrella unions _ the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) _ sent guidelines to their branches to seek compensation for diverse allowances expected to be cut, advising members to demand no wage cuts.
The guidelines are part of efforts to hold onto leverage for negotiating with management following a Supreme Court ruling.
The top court ruled last month that hours spent working on weekends and state-designated holidays should not be recognized as an extension of weekday work and therefore do not qualify as grounds for workers to seek extra pay. The ruling was largely considered to be business-friendly because it banned workers from demanding extra pay twice for the same hours which could be claimed as both weekend or other state-designated holiday shifts and overtime. Had the court allowed workers to claim extra pay twice for those hours, it would have resulted in a spike in lawsuits filed by union workers demanding due payment. The KCTU and FKTU both issued statements criticizing the court for making a ruling they claimed protects only the interests of large conglomerates.
According to the OECD, Koreans worked an average of 2,071 hours in 2015, 17 percent more than the OECD average of 1,764 hours. Germans worked an average of 1,301 hours that year.