Jung Da-hyun is a reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues in Korea, including foreign residents, education, environment and politics. Driven by a deep interest in people’s stories, she focuses on investigative and feature reporting through direct interviews and field coverage. She received the Amnesty International Korea Media Award for her “Deepfake Crisis at Schools” series. Reach her at dahyun08@koreatimes.co.kr. Always open to hearing your stories.
Gangwon governor says 4-day workweek will revitalize province
Gangwon Governor Kim Jin-tae / Courtesy of Gangwon State Office
By Jung Da-hyun
Gangwon Province Gov. Kim Jin-tae emphasized the potential benefits of implementing a four-day workweek, saying it could boost workers' productivity by allowing them to engage in more recreational activities.
During the 325th extraordinary session of the Gangwon State Council on Feb. 14, Kim said that he plans to thoroughly study and prepare policy alternatives to make the province stand out nationally by introducing the four-day workweek.
The province became a special self-governing province last year, leading the provincial office to rebrand itself as Gangwon State.
He said that major companies like Samsung Electronics, POSCO, SK Group and online industries have already been piloting a four-day workweek.
POSCO, for instance, has allowed non-shift employees, who are expected to work at least 40 hours a week, to take a Friday off every two weeks starting last month. The initiative targets individuals who work at least 80 hours during the previous nine weekdays.
This initiative aims to enhance labor productivity by offering longer weekends for workers.
While acknowledging that the transition to a five-day workweek faced skepticism in the early 2000s, Kim now considers the four-day workweek a natural progression, anticipating it to become a societal norm over time.
He also said that the four-day workweek could facilitate more people living in the province and revamp the local real estate market, particularly with the rising popularity of second homes.
"The potential increase in time that can be spent for leisure activities presents a significant opportunity for the state," Kim said.
"We are actively dedicating our policy capabilities to increase the size of living population through initiatives such as promoting the concept of 'workation' and the Gangwon Stay Project."
Workation, a term that combines the words work and vacation, represents a practice where individuals go on vacations while working away from the office.
The Gangwon Stay project will focus on repurposing underutilized spaces in the province to run temporary stay programs and create recreational facilities.
"To address the pressing issue of population decline, I urge the state council to take a keen interest in formulating policies related to the four-day workweek," Kim said.