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SEOUL, July 1 (Yonhap) -- Starting this month, South Korean workers will work less than before under a new 52-hour maximum working week devised to ensure work-life balance, observers here said Sunday.
The new change, effective for businesses with more than 300 employees, public institutions and government offices, is expected to bring as big a sea change in everyday life as the five-day-work-week introduced in 2004 did.
Under the new system, Korean workers cannot work over 52 hours per week -- they are allowed 40 hours of regular work and 12 hours of extra work time. If the rules are not followed, a business owner can face up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won (US$17,945).
Korean businesses have been bracing for the system for the past few months by hiring more workers, overhauling their working hour systems and adopting flexible hours to meet their particular needs.
The Ministry of Labor expects businesses to adopt to the new system without much of a hitch, as many larger Korean big businesses and their subsidiaries have already implemented it.
A survey carried out last month by the ministry on 3,627 businesses with more than 300 workers showed that 59 percent had already enforced the 52-hour maximum workweek.
Read more here. (Yonhap News KR)
The new change, effective for businesses with more than 300 employees, public institutions and government offices, is expected to bring as big a sea change in everyday life as the five-day-work-week introduced in 2004 did.
Under the new system, Korean workers cannot work over 52 hours per week -- they are allowed 40 hours of regular work and 12 hours of extra work time. If the rules are not followed, a business owner can face up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won (US$17,945).
Korean businesses have been bracing for the system for the past few months by hiring more workers, overhauling their working hour systems and adopting flexible hours to meet their particular needs.
The Ministry of Labor expects businesses to adopt to the new system without much of a hitch, as many larger Korean big businesses and their subsidiaries have already implemented it.
A survey carried out last month by the ministry on 3,627 businesses with more than 300 workers showed that 59 percent had already enforced the 52-hour maximum workweek.
Read more here. (Yonhap News KR)
