Economics
Asia’s Most Overworked Country Pushes for Right to Rest
- South Korea ranks 2nd in OECD for longest working hours
- Lawmakers struggle to revise law to give relief to the weary
Photographer: Getty Images
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President Moon Jae-in’s drive to give South Koreans their “right to rest” by slashing work hours is making little headway as lawmakers haggle over pay rates for weekends.
While the long hours were once considered necessary to fuel rapid economic growth, the grind is now seen as the source of the country’s social problems, including low birth rate and productivity. South Koreans work 2,069 hours a year, the second-most among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development members after Mexico.