The Democratic Party and the People Power Party failed to reach a consensus on the “52-hour workweek exception,” causing another delay in passing the Semiconductor Special Act.
Today (8th), the National Assembly’s Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee convened a subcommittee to discuss the Semiconductor Special Act. However, the two parties could not agree on the “52-hour exception” clause.
Due to the lack of agreement, Democratic Party members of the Trade, Industry, and Energy Committee decided to request the leadership to designate the Semiconductor Special Act as a fast-track bill.
Kim Won-yi, the secretary of the Democratic Party on the committee, met with reporters after the subcommittee meeting and stated, “The People Power Party still insists on the necessity of including the 52-hour exception clause in the Semiconductor Special Act, resulting in a stalemate.”
He continued, “I have officially stated that we will strongly request the leadership to put it on the fast track. With no changes from the People Power Party, the only solution is the fast track.”
When asked if there were any further discussions planned, he replied, “For now, there are none. The disagreement remains unchanged. Unless the People Power Party initiates a conversation, we will not propose further discussions.”
Kim further added, “With the revision of the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s notification regarding special extended work, the 52-hour exception clause has become meaningless. We have essentially achieved most of the objectives, so I don’t understand why the People Power Party opposes it.”
The Democratic Party had previously considered designating the “Semiconductor Special Act” as a fast-track bill. Still, they decided to prioritize discussing and processing the bill in the standing committee, as they believed they could coordinate some issues concerning its passage, except for the 52-hour workweek exception.