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The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions announce their suit against the South Korean government for expanding the scope of exceptions for overtime in front of the Seoul Administrative Court on Feb. 19. (Kim Hye-yun, staff photographer)

A special extension of work hours is currently in place that permits exceptions to overtime beyond a 52-hour work week, the exceptions being made for reasons such as large and sudden increases in workload. Despite the controversy this system has sparked in the labor community, the South Korean government has decided to void working days from the first half of this year that apply to the system.

The government explained the decision as being a special measure in response to the economic crisis precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but critics have been lambasting it as undercutting the previous policy emphasis on reducing working hours to suit the convenience of employers.

On July 14, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) announced that it would be adjusting its special extension of work hours on a limited-time basis to allow for its use for up to 90 days during the second half of the year regardless of the number of days used during the first half (from Jan. 31 to June 30) for the sake of a swift response to the situation caused by the virus. The special extension of work hours grants employers additional overtime hours beyond the 52-hour work week in cases of special grounds, with the consent of employees according to Article 53 of the Labor Standard Act.

As recently as last year, permission was only granted in cases of “efforts in response to a disaster or equivalent accident” -- but since Jan. 31 of this year, the category has been expanded to include “business-related grounds” such as “unforeseen situations” and “sharp increases in workload,” with overtime hours in excess of the 52-hour weekly maximum allowed for up to 90 days in a year. The latest decision means that employees who worked more than the 52-hour maximum for the full 90 days during the first half of the year through the special overtime system are now in the position of having to work as many as 64 hours per week for up to 180 days this year.

According to MOEL figures, a total of 1,665 companies received special overtime exceptions during the first half of the year -- a nine-fold increase from the 181 cases over the same period in 2019 before the category’s expansion to include “business-related grounds.” An examination of 1,274 exemptions granted in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic included 551 categorized as “miscellaneous” (43.2%), 547 related to disease control (42.9%), 122 related to mask and diagnostic kit production (9.6%), and 54 related to alternative domestic production (4.3%).

A separate analysis of the 666 businesses granted approval for “business-related grounds,” which were permitted beginning January of this year, showed 498 of the cases as related to the pandemic, including 230 involving increased production volumes (34.4%), 135 classified as “recalls and other” (20.3%), 129 related to immigration restrictions (19.4%), 114 related to disease control (17.3%), and 58 related to government support funds (8.6%).

The labor community was up in arms over what it characterized as the government undercutting its own aims in introducing the 52-hour work week. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) described the measures as “using the coronavirus situation as an excuse to permit long working hours that seriously threaten the health rights, lives, and safety of workers.”

“Rather than arbitrarily extending the period for allowing increased working hours, the Ministry of Employment and Labor should be increasing its measures and support to increase the number of workers,” it urged.

Yu Seong-gyu, a labor attorney with the group Solidarity for Workers’ Health, said, “The basic principle of the Labor Standards Act as determined by the National Assembly is that a maximum of 12 overtime hours is allowed [beyond a 40-hour work week], and the very fact that the Ministry of Employment and Labor included ‘business-related grounds’ to permit special overtime goes beyond the scope of administrative discretion.”

“With these measures extending the allowable period on top of the previous wrong-headed decision, the problem has only gotten worse,” Yu said.

By Seon Dam-eun, staff reporter

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