A new state-commissioned study shows working hours reduction remains on track in South Korea. The country projects annual working hours will fall to 1,739 by 2030. This figure would drop from 1,859 hours recorded in 2024. Consequently, working hours reduction would bring Korea closer to the OECD average. The average stands at roughly 1,700 hours per worker annually. The Ministry of Employment and Labor commissioned this research report. It aims to develop a roadmap for actually reducing working hours.
President Lee Jae Myung’s administration has made this goal a key labor policy priority. The initiative ties into broader social challenges facing the nation. For instance, improving quality of life remains a central concern. Low productivity per hour worked also needs urgent attention. Furthermore, the country’s low fertility rate connects directly to insufficient childcare time. Therefore, working hours reduction addresses multiple societal issues simultaneously. Korea has already made significant progress in recent years. The five-day workweek and Labor Standards Act revisions helped tremendously. These policies limit work beyond 40 hours per week. Average annual working hours fell by 137 hours since 2017.
Nevertheless, Korea still ranks sixth-highest among OECD members. Its working hours exceed levels in Western Europe, Japan, and the United States. President Lee has pledged to introduce a 4.5-day workweek soon. The Ministry now offers incentives to small and medium businesses. These incentives encourage reducing the number of working days. The Ministry also seeks to curb unpaid overtime practices. However, the report warns that such measures alone may not suffice. Much of Korea’s earlier progress came from cutting overtime hours. That leaves less room for further cuts without new approaches. Thus, working hours reduction requires expanding shorter-hour arrangements and improving paid leave use.
“Compared to the past, working hours have already decreased significantly,” the report states. Sustaining the trend will demand additional efforts from all parties. The range of choices in working-hour arrangements should broaden. Expanding the unit period for calculating working hours also deserves consideration. The study highlights a heavy concentration of standard contracts in Korea. Specifically, 53.1 percent of employees work under 40-hour contracts. This figure stands much higher than in Germany at 30.9 percent. The United Kingdom shows only 15.9 percent, and France just 12.5 percent.
Paid leave usage remains another major challenge for working hours reduction. Despite legal guarantees, Korean workers rarely take extended vacations. The Korea Labor Institute found that only about 3 percent take a full week off during summer. In contrast, roughly half of workers in France, Denmark, and Italy take extended summer leave. Germany shows about 20 percent taking such leave. “Institutional changes are needed to encourage workers to fully use their annual leave,” the report adds. Making it easier to take time away for family matters will help. This working hours reduction will require cultural as well as legal shifts. The government plans to continue monitoring progress through 2030. Experts remain cautiously optimistic about achieving the OECD average target.
