South Korea’s local governments are increasingly implementing the four-day workweek, which allows civil servants to work longer hours Monday through Thursday in exchange for a three-day weekend.
While many praised the new policy for helping employees better manage work-life balance, some critics have pointed out that public sector workers receive benefits not afforded to their private sector counterparts.
Jeongseon County in Gangwon Province recently began experimenting with a “bi-weekly four-day workweek.” Under this system, employees work five days one week and four days the next. Civil servants of Grade 7 and below may work overtime from Monday to Thursday and take Friday off. For those in Grade 6 or higher with children under eight, regular working hours apply from Monday to Thursday, while they can use additional childcare time between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., allowing them to take every other Friday off.
Since July, Chungnam Province has introduced a four-day workweek for civil servants with children under two. They can work four ten-hour days (totaling 40 hours) and take one day off, or they can work four days in the office and one day remotely.
Seoul and Daejeon have also piloted a four-day workweek policy for pregnant employees or those with young children. These employees can work four days in the office and one day from home. In a survey conducted in April involving 1,490 public officials in Seoul who have children under the age of eight, 89.6% responded that working from home helps balance work and childcare, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
Jeju Island has introduced a “4.5-day workweek.” Employees work longer hours from Monday to Thursday and leave the office at 1 p.m. on Fridays. Since the total working hours remain the same, wages are not changed. The policy, which has been in effect since July, has seen participation from 658 civil servants and employees of public institutions (excluding Jeju and Seogwipo medical centers).
Jeju has also made it mandatory for civil servants with children under two years old to work from home one day per week. Employees can work from home one day from Monday to Thursday and leave the office at 1 p.m. on Friday. “It was nice to finish work early and go on a long-overdue coffee date with my pregnant wife,” said a 40-year-old Jeju civil servant.
“South Korea is known for its long working hours, with the average working hours higher than most OECD member countries,” said Professor Lee Byung-hoon of Chung-Ang University. “The four-day workweek in the public sector could serve as a driving force for our society to embrace the change towards better work-life balance.”
Despite the push for more flexible working arrangements in the private sector, some skeptics argue that the benefits enjoyed by civil servants could stir resentment among private-sector employees, who often work longer hours without such options.
The number of workers who worked more than 53 hours per week last year stood at 3.067 million last year, up 4% from the previous year’s 2.95 million, according to Statistics Korea, a government body. This marks the first time the number of workers putting in more than 53 hours per week has increased since the government introduced the 52-hour workweek system in 2018. “We still have a long way to go,” said an official from the Korea Labor Institute.
