On Request to Ease the 52-Hour Workweek, President Lee: "The Fundamental Premise Is Premium Pay for Overtime"

At the second plenary meeting of the Regulatory Rationalization Committee on the 23rd
"Discuss the right to health issue, including amending the enforcement decree"

President Lee Jaemyung said on the 23rd, regarding easing the 52-hour workweek restrictions for semiconductor research and development (R&D) workers, "The fundamental premise is that we are not considering creating a system under a special law that would fail to compensate workers for additional labor," adding, "Under the existing system, premium wages will be paid for overtime work."

President Lee made the remarks after being asked to include an exception to the 52-hour workweek in the Special Act on Super-Regional Special Zones at the second plenary meeting of the Regulatory Rationalization Committee, which he chaired that afternoon at the Blue House. He also said that the idea of not compensating workers for overtime "is absolutely unacceptable" and "would be a clear step backward."

President Lee Jaemyung speaks at the second plenary meeting of the Regulatory Rationalization Committee, held at the Blue House on Oct. 23, 2026. Yonhap News Agency

"For example, we all agree that working on weekends warrants a 50% premium, working at night warrants a 50% premium, and if the two overlap, 200% should be paid, don't we?" he said. "Progress can be made only if both sides accept compensation as a fundamental premise and discuss the matter on that basis."

He continued, "It seems the final remaining issue is the right to health. For example, could someone survive working 20 hours a day for five days? Shouldn't we also set a certain limit on that?"

In response to concerns that current systems, such as flexible work arrangements and special extended work, are administratively cumbersome, he added, "Discuss thoroughly whether there are ways to amend the enforcement decree for the existing system or simplify the procedures."

President Lee said, "The business community and labor community think I am on the other side, but I don't see much difference between us." He added, "I don't think the differences are serious enough to warrant such extreme confrontation. They are very small."

President Lee also urged them to "trust one another," saying, "There is a significant lack of trust. The Ministry of Employment and Labor should make an effort." Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon replied, "We will carefully examine the difficulties companies face in using the existing system, build trust, and make sure we achieve results."

Recently, the National Assembly has been discussing whether to include a provision exempting high-income and research workers from the 52-hour workweek as it drafts the Special Act on Super-Regional Special Zones to promote locally led growth.

Park Geon-su, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, who attended the meeting, called special working-hour provisions for key R&D personnel "a long-standing goal of the semiconductor industry" and requested that such a provision be included.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.