Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, noted on the 21st regarding the exceptions to the 52-hour workweek under the semiconductor special law, "There was a request from the employer side to include a clause that the Ministry of Employment and Labor could approve the existing modified work system or make it flexible," adding, "So I said, 'That's not possible. It's not right.'
On that day in the afternoon, Lee met with the leadership of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and conveyed that there was a debate between the ruling and opposition parties on the previous day (21st).
Lee stated, "Without extending the total hours of the 52-hour workweek and only applying the condition that if high-income earners in specific areas of research and development personally agree to it, then applying it temporarily without exceptions for all overtime pay seems to have nearly no applicability and would not make much difference in reality."
He added, "It seems that there is almost no chance of utilizing this without going through the existing 'modified work system,'" and said, "The existing system is more advantageous to the employer."
Lee also remarked, "So why is there such a value for extremism to confront this?" It appears that the modified work system he referred to means the currently implemented selective and discretionary work system.
Lee conveyed that during the previous day's meeting, he asked Acting Head Choi Sang-mok and the ruling party, "Is that possible or not? The Ministry of Employment already has the authority to approve, so why not exercise that authority?"
He further conveyed, "(According to Acting Head Choi) it was said that we (the Democratic Party) agreed to change the existing notice. (So) I said, 'Why should we agree to that? You should do it within your authority.'" This is interpreted as questioning why it should be reflected in the law when the Ministry could exercise its authority.
Lee stated, "It is unacceptable to try to avoid compensating for increased labor intensity due to extending total work hours and modifying overtime."
Nevertheless, he noted, "On the one hand, in cases where it is absolutely necessary, and extremely exceptionally, if one must do it voluntarily, is there a need to legally prohibit that? From the perspective of the political sphere, we should also listen to that side (the People Power Party). If we blindly reject rational discussions that the public agrees with, that too is actually a problem."
In other words, the employer side is asking to allow the current system to be operated quickly (without necessarily reflecting it in the semiconductor special law), but it is interpreted as criticism that the People Power Party is pushing for a 'complete exception to the 52-hour workweek.'
Joo Seung-rae, chief spokesperson for the Democratic Party, stated, "What corporations are asking for is to facilitate the existing special extended work system, and some corporations say that they do not need the exception for the 52-hour workweek," adding, "It is about revising the notice within the framework of the law, but it is not something that the Democratic Party or the National Assembly can politically guarantee."