Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.
Will SK Group scrap Happy Friday, 4-day workweek?
SK Group's logo is seen in front of its headquarters in Seoul in this 2021 file photo. Newsis
By Park Jae-hyuk
Top executives to meet on Saturday every two weeks
SK Group’s latest move to strengthen employee discipline has sparked speculation that the conglomerate may abandon the "Happy Friday" system, which allows employees to take a Friday off once or twice a month after working overtime on previous weekdays, according to industry officials, Friday.
Senior executives belonging to SK Supex Council, the group’s de facto control tower, voluntarily agreed recently to stop taking days off Fridays, although they are still allowed to take a Friday off twice a month if they work at least 80 hours during the previous nine weekdays.
They made the decision after the nation’s second-largest business group decided to convene the chief executives of its affiliates biweekly on Saturday to discuss management strategies. This is the first time since the five-day workweek system took effect in 2000 that the conglomerate is holding a regular executive meeting on Saturday.
SK Supex Council Chairman Chey Chang-won speaks during the SK bioscience Global Forum at the drugmaker's headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, in this June 2022 file photo. Yonhap
Chey Chang-won, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won’s younger cousin, who was appointed last December to lead the Supex Council, reportedly pushed ahead with the recent measures.
Under the leadership of the new second-in-command, SK Group is also said to be asking its affiliates to reduce costs by saving personnel expenses and revising incentive systems.
“The owner family member, who seized control of the group last year following the resignations of four vice chairmen, apparently has a negative view of the Happy Friday system,” an industry official said.
SK Group explained that the Supex Council's non-executive employees will be able to continue to enjoy Happy Fridays twice a month. The company also emphasized the fact that collective agreements between labor and management of the group’s affiliates dictate flexible working hours.
However, there is speculation that it could also be difficult for SK Group executives not belonging to the Supex Council to take a Friday off, as they will need to draw up reports for their bosses attending Saturday meetings. This may also make leaders of teams and departments of the group’s affiliates to feel pressure to work every Friday, even if they are not in executive positions.
If SK Group abandons the Happy Friday system, this could put the brakes on the recent trend of domestic conglomerates allowing flextime for the four-day workweek.
POSCO recently drew attention by permitting its non-shift employees to take a Friday off every two weeks, provided they work a minimum of 80 hours during the preceding nine weekdays. In a similar move, Samsung Electronics' labor and management reached an agreement in June last year to grant a Friday off once a month to employees who exceeded their mandated monthly work hours.