Siseonje Labor Union Demands Guaranteed Right to Choose Working Hours from Yoon Seok-yeol Government

One of the 120 Tasks of the Yoon Seok-yeol Government: Guaranteeing the Right to Choose Working Hours... Need to Grant Appropriate Time Selection Rights to Time-Choice Public Officials

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] The National Time-Selective Public Officials Labor Union (Chairperson Seonghye Jeong) held a press conference at 1:30 p.m. on the 16th in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, demanding the Yoon Seok-yeol administration guarantee the "right to choose working hours" as promoted by the government when introducing the time-selective recruitment system for public officials.

Seonghye Jeong, Chairperson of the Time-Selective Labor Union, stated, "On September 17, 2013, when the Park Geun-hye administration introduced the time-selective recruitment system for public officials, a press release titled 'Proper Time-Selective Jobs, Government Leading by Example' promoted the introduction of a quality time-selective general public official system allowing individuals to choose and work only the hours they desire. However, the Public Officials Appointment Decree stipulates that 'the appointing authority decides,' allowing the appointing authority to change working hours at any time, turning it into a coercive and exploitative job."

In 2021, a time-selective public official A, affiliated with the Korea Coast Guard, who was raising three children in a single-parent family while working in public service, was requested by the agency to work 35 hours per week due to a vacancy caused by a colleague's leave. However, the day before A planned to take parental leave for personal reasons, the appointing authority forcibly reassigned A to 20 hours per week, resulting in a wage reduction and causing A to fall into basic livelihood security recipient status. Contrary to the original intent of the system's introduction, many cases of abuse have occurred in the field.

Jinsik Kim, Vice Chairperson of the Time-Selective Labor Union, argued, "In July 2022, the Yoon Seok-yeol administration announced in the 120th National Agenda, task 51, 'Establishing a Win-Win Labor Market through Labor-Management Cooperation,' that it would expand the 'right to choose working hours.' However, there is still no concrete government implementation plan. The Public Officials Act or the Public Officials Appointment Decree must be amended to include that 'the appointing authority and the public official shall consult to determine working hours,' so that the government can lead by example and grant time-selective public officials the right to choose their working hours."

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