By Sohn JiAe

Working hours in Korea, some of the longest in the OECD, are now set to improve.

The Korean government passed a bill on Feb. 28 to reduce the maximum number of weekly work hours to 52, down from 68. This now includes 40 regular work hours per week and 12 overtime hours.

The revision has been designed as part of an effort to improve the so-called "weo-la-bael" (워라밸) among workers. This is a catchphrase that means the balance between work and life. The goal is to allow workers to enjoy some time after work in the evening. This is different from the time-honored habit of working long hours in Korea. OECD statistics show that Korean employees worked for 2,069 hours per year on average in 2016, the longest number of weekly working hours among OECD members.

The new law also includes a reduction in the number of weekly work hours worked by younger employees between 15- and 18-years-old. Their legal work week will go from 40 to 35 hours, and they must receive a 50 to 100 percent hourly bonus for working on Saturdays or Sundays.

On March 5, President Moon stressed in a meeting with his top aides that, “We’re now breaking from being infamous for some of the longest working hours among OECD countries and for our high rate of deaths from overwork, and stepping toward becoming a society with lives that are worthy of human dignity, with more time away from work.”

“This reduction in working hours is an important opportunity to ensure a healthy work-life balance and the co-existence of both work and family,” he stated.

jiae5853@korea.kr