Shorter Work Hours

[Anchor Lead]

Starting on July 1, working hours in Korea will be cut in line with a new law. The government, the ruling party and the presidential office have agreed to introduce a six-month leniency period before implementing the new law in earnest. The move is apparently aimed at softening the blow to businesses stemming from shorter working hours.

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In a meeting that brought together officials from the government, the ruling party and the presidential office for the first time since the Democratic Party's landslide victory in the local elections, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon raised the issue of introducing a grace period for the implementation of shorter working hours, which take effect on July 1. The prime minister said that the Korea Employers' Federation's request for a six-month leniency period had a point. After a long discussion, the officials agreed to implement the new labor law as scheduled but grant six-month probation to employers who violate it. The decision was reached just ten days before the implementation of the revised Labor Act. The government says it had been considering granting probation to employers anyway, and the request from the business community only prompted it to go for it. However, the leniency period will not apply to large conglomerates. The government believes that the pace of reducing working hours needs to be adjusted.