However, according to the New York Times, in recent months, some influential companies from South Korea have requested their CEOs to work longer hours, with some companies requiring their management teams to come to the office six days a week.
Many people at South Korean companies believe that employees and lower-level managers at smaller companies will feel pressure to follow this method.
"This is a signal that in South Korea, working six days a week is still accepted" - Kim Seol, a representative of the Community Youth Federation, a labor union representing workers aged 15 to 39, said.
The pressure on South Korean workers, particularly young workers, can be very high in South Korea, where the population is aging and has the lowest birth rate in the world.
The concern about job security and the high cost of housing, childcare, and education for children has led South Korean workers in the working age to not want to have children, contributing to the ongoing demographic crisis affecting the economy.
In South Korea, the five-day workweek only emerged a generation ago, introduced into labor law in 2004, starting in the public sector and larger companies, and then spreading to smaller companies. The legal limit of 52 hours per week is also relatively new: It began in 2018. Previously, the weekly working hours were 68 hours.
Large companies in South Korea are calling for their CEOs to work longer hours, describing these measures as a response to the business downturn, citing the crisis as temporary or an emergency. South Korea's growth is uneven, with weak consumer spending affecting business income. South Korea's economy unexpectedly contracted in the previous quarter.
At HD Hyundai Oilbank, around 40 CEOs began coming to the office on weekends in recent weeks to "respond to the crisis caused by the sluggish business situation," according to a company representative. The company's sales and profits plummeted last year due to the decline in oil prices.
In July this year, SK On - a technology conglomerate's unit producing batteries and electric vehicles - announced a "state of emergency," freezing the salaries of its CEOs and requiring them to start work earlier. "CEOs and leaders will set an example and take on big responsibilities to overcome the crisis" - Lee Seok-hee, CEO of SK On, said at a staff meeting.
A Samsung Electronics spokesperson said that while it is not an official company policy, "CEOs may voluntarily choose to work on weekends according to their work needs."
Last year, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol proposed increasing the weekly working limit to 69 hours. This proposal met with fierce public and opposition party reactions. The president later withdrew the plan.
Many people in South Korea are pushing for reduced working hours. A four-day workweek is part of the agenda of some politicians running in the April parliamentary election in South Korea. In June this year, the South Korean government established a committee to balance work and life, tasked with exploring more flexible working methods.
