Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, urged on the 4th to introduce 'white-collar exemption' for Lee Jae-myung, who has recently shown a 'rightward shift', and to pass the semiconductor special law in the February extraordinary National Assembly.
During a party-government council regarding the 'introduction of exceptions to the 52-hour work week for the semiconductor special law' held at the National Assembly that morning, Floor Leader Kwon said, 'The semiconductor industry is a matter of survival for South Korea. If Lee has any sincerity at all, he must handle the semiconductor law in February.'
He criticized Lee for the 'meaningless' semiconductor special law forum chaired by him the previous day, saying, 'He wants to appear pragmatic but still has to watch out for the demands of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions; all he did was deliver vague remarks without reaching any conclusion.'
He continued, 'How long has it been since the semiconductor special law was proposed, and how many times have the policy chairs of both parties met? Yesterday's pointless forum was no different from Lee mocking the South Korean semiconductor industry with the question, "Should I do it or not?" and 'He is getting the image of a mediator while shifting the blame to pro-Lee lawmakers; such a deceptive role-play is enough with just one capital gains tax.'
The floor leader reiterated the necessity of the 'exemption application of the 52-hour work week' in the semiconductor special law. He stated, 'Losing semiconductor competitiveness is not just an economic issue but a matter threatening national security.' He explained, 'Countries have entered a hyper-competitive system through national policy support and flexible working hours. This is because industries cannot survive unless research and development and production continue 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.'
Referring to the flexible work culture of Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepMind and American corporation Nvidia, the floor leader emphasized, 'What about South Korea? The rigid implementation of the 52-hour work week is weakening the competitiveness of the semiconductor industry. There is not enough time for research and development and production line operation, yet legal constraints are blocking the reality.' He noted, 'At this rate, we will inevitably fall behind in the global semiconductor competition.'
He asserted, 'The Democratic Party should make greater efforts to confront the urgent realities of corporations, rather than just being mindful of its support base.'