Rebuilding Korea Party Introduces Mega-Regional Special Zone Bill Excluding 52-Hour Workweek Exemptions

The Rebuilding Korea Party on Wednesday (November 4) introduced what it called the "Better Mega-Regional Special Zone Act," which excludes labor exemptions such as waivers from the 52-hour workweek cap that were part of a bill sponsored by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Sang-hyuk.

Lawmaker Seo Wang-jin stated at a press conference at the National Assembly, "We will support businesses just as strongly as the Democratic Party's proposal does, but we will clearly draw lines in the law that must not be crossed."

Earlier on October 20, Democratic Party lawmaker Park Sang-hyuk, the ruling party's ranking member on the National Assembly's National Policy Committee, introduced a "mega special zone bill" titled the "Mega-Regional Special Zone Bill," which aims to foster local strategic industries in connection with the Honam region's semiconductor sector and includes government-level corporate support measures.

In addition to provisions for corporate support, that bill included various labor-related exemptions.

The bill submitted by Seo on behalf of the Rebuilding Korea Party removes provisions that exempt high-income and research workers from the 52-hour workweek limit, and deletes exemptions that would allow unpaid holidays and expanded worker dispatches for foreign-invested enterprises.

The bill also limits the number of special zones to no more than one per region to ensure concentrated corporate investment, and establishes a "Labor, Management, Civil, and Government Coexistence Council" to jointly discuss special zone plans, labor conditions, and environmental impacts.

Speaking to reporters after the conference, Seo said, "Many lawmakers within the Democratic Party also have serious concerns regarding the labor-related exemptions," adding, "I believe adjustments will take place during discussions [in the National Assembly]."

In connection with this, the Democratic Party also separately submitted late last month a mega-regional special zone bill that excludes the 52-hour workweek exemption clause from Park's bill.

The Democratic Party previously announced plans to combine and review the bill introduced by lawmaker Choe Ki-sang, the ruling party's ranking member on the National Assembly Committee on Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor, alongside Park's bill.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.