Synopsis
On March 11, South Korea's industry and labor ministers urged for an exemption of semiconductor researchers from the country's 52-hour workweek system, which limits their working hours even when necessary. This move aims to boost competitiveness in the global semiconductor market amidst rising challenges.Key Takeaways
- Call for exemption of semiconductor researchers from the 52-hour workweek.
- Ministers emphasize the urgency of the global chip competition.
- Discussions for legislative changes are ongoing but unresolved.
- South Korea's exports show positive growth in early March.
- Concerns raised over the impact of labor regulations on the semiconductor sector.
Seoul, March 11 (NationPress) On Tuesday, industry and labor ministers advocated for the exclusion of researchers in the semiconductor sector from South Korea's 52-hour workweek regulation, which restricts their ability to work longer hours when necessary.
The government has been urging a revision to this policy to enable these professionals to work additional hours as required, as reported by the Yonhap news agency.
Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun and Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo made this request during a meeting with representatives from the semiconductor industry, including prominent chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc.
"The ongoing chip war represents a technology conflict, and ultimately, a race against time," Ahn remarked, highlighting the intense global competition within the chip market.
"Countries like the United States, Japan, and Taiwan are developing their semiconductor ecosystems with significant national investments at stake, while China has nearly caught up with our memory chip technology, which is crucial for our economic growth," he noted.
"It is extremely worrying that our semiconductor industry is the only one facing restrictions due to labor hour regulations."
Discussions between the government and opposing parties regarding a special bill to exempt semiconductor workers from the 52-hour workweek have not yielded a consensus.
The government previously announced plans to explore options for improving the work hour regulations for the chip sector.
According to recent data, South Korea's exports rose in the first ten days of this month, driven by robust demand in shipbuilding and the automotive sector.
Outbound shipments totaled US$13.87 billion from March 1-10, marking a 2.9 percent increase from $13.48 billion during the same timeframe last year, based on data from the Korea Customs Service.
Imports also rose by 7.3 percent year-on-year, reaching $15.92 billion during this period, resulting in a trade deficit of $2 billion.
The daily average export volume grew by 12.3 percent year-on-year over the reported period, with 5.5 working days compared to six days the previous year.
In February, exports showed a 1 percent increase year-on-year, recovering from a decline the prior month.
