Acting President Choi urges lifting of 52-hour workweek cap, again

During a meeting, Acting President Choi Sang-mok urged the lifting of the 52-hour workweek cap in the semiconductor industry.

From left: Democratic Party chief Rep. Lee Jae-myung, acting President Choi Sang-mok, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, and interim People Power Party leader Rep. Kwon Young-se pose for a photo in western Seoul on Feb. 20. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Acting President Choi Sang-mok once again called for the lift of a 52-hour workweek limit in the semiconductor industry during a four-way policy consultative body meeting with leaders of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) and liberal Democratic Party (DP) on Thursday.

The meeting marked the first since the organization’s inception in early January.

“There is no time to waste,” said Choi during the meeting at the National Assembly in western Seoul, urging for the passage of the Special Act on Semiconductors with clauses permitting more than 52 hours of work a week in the semiconductor industry included.

“Advanced workforces in major economies, such as the United States and Japan, are making all-out efforts to develop new technologies without a work-hour limit,” the acting president stressed, adding that the U.S. administration’s threats to levy tariffs on semiconductor imports added to the mounting drawbacks.

Without a workweek cap exemption, “the bill will merely be a ‘normal act,’ rather than a ‘special act,’” Choi said. “I believe we can reach a reasonable resolution with safety nets in place to protect workers’ health rights.”

The policy consultation body — consisting of the acting president, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, interim PPP leader Kwon Young-se and DP leader Lee Jae-myung — was established in early January to facilitate cooperation among the government and lawmakers amid a political turmoil driven by a leadership vacuum, with its first working-level discussion on Jan. 9.

However, the Thursday meeting was the first time the four members have held a formal discussion. The meeting, initially scheduled for Feb. 10, was postponed after the two parties failed to agree on an agenda.

On the table were the most urgent and contentious economic issues including the disputed bill to lift the 52-hour workweek and a supplementary budget to stimulate sluggish demand, though there was no set agenda.

During the meeting, DP’s Lee said it was “difficult to agree” with Choi’s argument that lifting of the 52-hour cap is integral to the Special Semiconductor Act.

“If the opposition from labor unions raises challenges for the bill’s passage, there is no need to reject the rest of the support measures because of that,” said Lee, adding, “We need to adopt a flexible stance.”

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]