The government's push to introduce a 4.5-day workweek, one of its key policy initiatives, is expected to gain momentum. According to a report on "Roadmap for Reducing Actual Working Hours" conducted by the Korean Association of Industrial Relations and Labor Studies on commission from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the annual working hours per Korean worker are projected to decrease from 1,859 hours in 2024 to 1,739 hours by 2030. This aligns with the government's target of reducing Korean workers' actual working hours to the 1,700-hour range by 2030 through measures such as the 4.5-day workweek, suggesting that related discussions may accelerate.
However, labor productivity remains significantly lower than in major advanced economies. According to the report's projections, by 2030 the gap between the annual working hours per Korean worker and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average (1,682 hours) will narrow to 3.4 percent. By contrast, Korea's hourly labor productivity ($59.5) is expected to lag the OECD average ($66.3) by 10.3 percent, or $6.8.
Accordingly, the report proposed "productivity improvement" as a fundamental requirement for sustainable working hour reductions. In particular, the report warned that "reducing working hours could cause serious difficulties for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) already facing labor shortages." It presented productivity improvement measures for SMEs, including automation of repetitive tasks, digitalization, rationalization of processes and logistics, and smarter work methods. The report also recommended expanding the range of working hour formats such as flexible work arrangements, along with broadening the unit of working hour management, to reduce working hours.
The greater problem is that high labor regulation barriers are hindering productivity improvements. The "Yellow Envelope Law," which the ruling party pushed through, expanded the scope of labor disputes to include "management decisions affecting working conditions." Even when companies seek to invest in automation equipment, doing so without union consent has become difficult. The expansion of flexible work systems is being blocked by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). An attempt to expand the time management unit for "overtime work within 12 hours per week" under the 52-hour workweek system from the current weekly basis to monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual units was thwarted by labor groups' opposition during the previous administration. If the government is to achieve sustainable reductions in working hours, it must actively persuade labor groups and first remove the rigid labor regulations that are blocking productivity improvements.
