South Korea’s Industry and Labour Ministers advocated for exempting semiconductor industry researchers from the nation’s 52-hour workweek restriction, which limits their ability to work longer hours when required. According to a report in Yonhap news agency, the South Korean government has been pushing to amend this system to provide flexibility for such workers to extend their hours as needed. The proposal was raised by Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun and Labour Minister Kim Moon-soo during discussions with semiconductor industry representatives, including key players like Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix. The industry mnister Ahn emphasized the urgency, stating, “The ongoing chip war is a technology war, and a tech war is ultimately a race against time,” highlighting the intense global rivalry in the semiconductor sector.
Ann said, “The United States, Japan and Taiwan are fostering their semiconductor ecosystems with their national fortunes at stake, while China has almost caught up with our memory chip technology, which is one of our major growth engines.” The minister expressed concern that South Korea’s semiconductor industry is uniquely constrained by labor hour regulations. “It is deeply concerning that only our semiconductor industry remains hindered by labor hour regulations,” he said
South Korea government planning a bill to remove the exemption
Although the government and opposing political parties have debated a special bill to exempt semiconductor workers from the 52-hour workweek, no consensus has been reached. The government has signaled it will explore options to reform the work hour framework for the chip industry.
In related economic news, South Korea’s exports for the first 10 days of March rose 2.9 percent year-over-year to US$13.87 billion, driven by robust demand for shipbuilding and automobiles, according to the Korea Customs Service. Imports during the same period climbed 7.3 percent to $15.92 billion, leading to a $2 billion trade deficit. Adjusted for working days—5.5 this year versus six last year—the daily average export volume surged 12.3 percent. In February, exports grew by 1 percent year-over-year, recovering from a decline the prior month.
