Now below 48 hours, workweek for many still above legal limit

South Koreans work 40% longer than OECD-member nations

Employees of restaurants and hotels work the longest hours for the lowest pay, according to a recent study. In addition, despite the legal expansion of the 5-day workweek from the previous 6-day standard, South Korean workers work an average of 48 hours per week.

According to the National Statistical Office on December 17, employees at restaurants and hotels work an average of 52.6 hours a week, the longest working hours seen in the survey. But those employees earned an average of 1.59 million won (US$ 1,700) a month, representing the lowest monthly wage among the 14 work sectors surveyed.

Employees in the manufacturing sector work for an average of 49 hours a week, followed by 48.3 hours worked by those in the sectors of electricity, transportation, telecommunications, and finance, 45.7 hours in the construction field, and 45.4 hours by those self-employed and working in public services. On the other end of the scale, workers in the agricultural and fisheries sectors work an average of 40.9 hours a week.

The overall average workweek stood at 47.9 hours, coming in below 48 hours for the first time. However, the figure is most likely still above the legally established limit, as from July employees at companies with more than 100 workers are required to work a maximum of 40 hours a week. The average working hours per week have fallen since 2001, when the figure stood at 50.4 hours.

Meanwhile, the average work done per year in South Korea was 2,380 hours in 2004. Compared with the average of 1,701 hours seen in member economies of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Koreans work 40 percent longer. Compared with the Netherlands, whose employees work an average of 1,312 hours a year, South Korean employees work an additional 1,068 hours annually.

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