[Editorial] The populist competition to cut the number of working days will ultimately come back as a burden on the people
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Writer
CFE
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-Populist 4-Day and 4.5-Day Workweek Proposals Will Deal a Blow to Economic Vitality; Flexible Working Hours Are the Answer-
Recently, the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party have side by side called for the introduction of a “4-day workweek” and a “4.5-day workweek,” launching into a populist competition over reducing the number of working days.
Without any serious consideration of fundamental productivity gains or an institutional environment conducive to business, a vote-seeking competition is being repeated before the public. The problem is that these vote-buying policies will inevitably come back as a burden on both businesses and the public.
The Democratic Party argued for a 4-day workweek, citing technological advances such as AI as grounds for the need to reduce working hours. The People Power Party, meanwhile, put forward a 4.5-day workweek pledge centered on keeping pay and total working hours unchanged, working one extra hour each day from Monday through Thursday, and leaving early after working Friday morning.
The methods may differ, but in essence both are the same kind of populism. In Korea’s reality, where a culture of intensive work has not taken root, a sudden institutional shift is highly likely to produce nothing but side effects such as lower labor productivity and higher business costs. In particular, a direct blow to SMEs and the self-employed would be unavoidable.
Such measures are highly likely to burden businesses, distort the labor market, and threaten the national economy. Unless they are supported by productivity gains and more efficient use of labor, they will amount to nothing more than a simple reduction in the number of working days, and may ultimately weaken the competitiveness of the national economy as a whole.
Korea has implemented the 52-hour workweek system, but the result was significant side effects that made both workers and business management more rigid. Due to inflexible regulations, working methods were distorted and it became difficult to achieve proper management performance. The damage, in turn, led to reduced labor income and higher business costs. As companies began facing production problems, they eventually started using fewer workers and introducing automated equipment. In the end, the door to employment grew ever narrower for young people seeking new jobs.
The political sphere should focus on designing a sustainable and flexible labor market. For the economy to function normally, the freedom to work must not be obstructed. Regulations that suppress working hours only create the harmful effect of constraining business management.
The government must guarantee the freedom to work so that anyone who wants to work more can do so. It should allow labor and management to adjust working hours more freely.
2025. 4. 15.
Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)
Original title: [논평] 근로일수 단축 포퓰리즘 경쟁, 결국 국민 부담으로 돌아온다
Author: Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)
Date: 2025-04-15
Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=comment&pn=2&idx=27527