Under the reform measures announced by the Ministry of Labor last week, companies will be allowed to increase the maximum weekly working hours to 69 hours while keeping average working hours within 52 hours.
The proposal came as companies complained of difficulties in meeting deadlines due to the 52-hour work week, Yonhap news agency reported.
It is subject to public review before it is sent to the National Assembly for approval in June and July.
“Review the areas that need to be identified in the details of the bill and in communicating with the public by listening closely to the opinions of various workers, especially those of the MZ generation, which were expressed during the legislative preview period,” Yoon quoted Senior Presidential Secretary for Press Affairs Kim Eun Hai saying.
Generation MZ is a Korean term for millennials and generation Z.
Later in the day, Prime Minister Han Duk-soo told reporters that Yoon’s instructions were not intended to completely reconsider the proposed work week system.
When asked if the government would completely reconsider the proposed system, Han replied, “Not at all.”
“Nothing has changed in the original frame, which he says is very beneficial for young people and for the MZ generation,” Hahn said.
Instead, Han said, the government will strictly enforce laws to prevent delays in paying wages or refusals to pay overtime wages.