On March 6, the government announced a "plan to reform the working time system". According to this plan, working hours can be increased to 69 hours per week. To clarify, the system would reduce subsequent working hours or compensate for holidays which go over 52 hours. The government proposed such measures along with flexible working methods, but it immediately faced opposition, with those who oppose saying that it did not reflect reality at all. In the face of negative public opinion, the government added that the maximum number of working hours increases with the system, but the average working hours do not increase due to the existence of long holidays. Nonetheless, public opinion remains cold. What do Kyonggi University students who are preparing for employment think about this reorganization?

 Opposition – Department of Law student, Lee & Department of English Language and Literature student, Lee

 Question 1: Do you think the current working hours (52 hours a week) are appropriate? And why do you think so?

 Department of Law student, Lee: I think the current working hours are appropriate. If you look at the working hours of a typical company, employees start work at 9 a.m., have lunchtime from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., and work until 6 p.m., making the total 8 hours a day, which is equivalent to 40 hours a week. Depending on the company's internal circumstances, overtime of up to 12 hours per week may be added. 

 Department of English Language and Literature student, Lee: I think 52 hours is quite a lot. However, if you look at 40 hours of standard work, they're working 8 hours a day for 5 days, with an additional 12 hours of overtime. Even if they work more than 8 hours, I think that the time spent actually working is little. Rather than focusing only on the amount of time on the clock, I think focusing on how workers spend that time, even if it is short, is a way to satisfy both office workers and companies.

Question 2: What do you think are the ideal weekly working hours? And why do you think so?

 Department of Law student, Lee: I think the ideal weekly working hours is 48 hours: 40 standard hours plus a maximum of 8 hours of overtime. Based on the typical company's working hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., this adds up to 40 hours when calculated as 5 days a week. Currently, overtime is up to 12 hours, so assuming that employees don't work overtime, there is a possibility that they will come in on weekends. In other words, they don't have one full day to rest. If the government limits their overtime to a maximum of eight hours, I think they will be able to take a full rest on one day of the weekend, assuming that they work eight hours a day.

 Department of English Language and Literature student, Lee: I think the ideal working limit is 40 hours. It's not easy to work eight hours a day, and as I mentioned earlier, not all of that time is spent on work. Given that office workers currently want 36.7 working hours, I think excessive working hours could discourage office workers. Therefore, I think working about 8 hours a day, or 40 hours a week, is the most appropriate.

Question 3: Do you agree or disagree with the government's proposed modification of the working hour system?

 Department of Law student, Lee: I'm against modifying it to a maximum of 69 hours a week. Even when it was 60 hours a week, I remember many people complained because 11 hours of rest were not properly given. Even if a flexible work system is granted by the reorganization, I think people will not be able to receive the full rest time stipulated by the law. In addition, small companies are still not properly regulated by overtime laws, but there are concerns that 69 hours a week will make it legal. I think the government should come up with a realistic solution to the situation of those affected by the reform plan. 

 Department of English Language and Literature student, Lee: I'm against it. This is because I'm worried about the efficiency of work. Also, if office workers work 69 hours, they may face health problems such as overwork and an irregular lifestyle. There is a trend of reducing working hours around the world, but I wonder why Korea, which already has the highest working hours, wants to increase them. As working hours increase and leisure time decreases, life satisfaction also decreases. After all, humans work to be happy, so I don't think that happy time should be taken away and replaced with working time.

 The opposition argued that the modification plan would encourage long hours of work and threaten the health of workers. They also argued that it was a plan far from reality, fearing that the right to rest would not be properly guaranteed. On the other hand, some people support the modification. Due to the nature of their industry, workers in the IT industry have a sharp increase in workload due to customer requests. However, there are times when this is not the case, and they argue that the current plan was insufficient in such an environment. The value of rest is more important than labor. As this labor modification is aimed at improving workplace efficiency along with guaranteeing workers' right to work and rest, I hope the government will listen to various opinions and modify working hours accordingly.

78th Reporter • LEE HYEON SEO • zzhs00@naver.com

79th Reporter • KIM JAE SEOK • jaiystone@gmail.com