Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) said it opposes limiting the planned white-collar exemption — a carve-out from working-hour rules for highly paid professional and research staff — to the mega special districts, arguing the measure should also cover worksites that play a similar role outside newly created zones such as the Honam semiconductor cluster.
According to a written response Samsung Electronics submitted to Rep. Park Hae-cheol of the Democratic Party, released on the 14th, the company said effective use of the white-collar exemption "would help address rapid changes in industrial workplaces and strengthen research and development competitiveness."
Samsung Electronics was critical of confining the exemption to the mega special districts. "We oppose limiting the scope of the law to the district areas only," the company said, adding that it was "requesting an expansion to related worksites."
The company took no clear position on another regulatory carve-out planned for the districts: extending the period companies may employ fixed-term workers. "Fixed-term workers are a very small minority," Samsung Electronics said. "We have no position on this matter." SK hynix (000660.KS) said only that fixed-term staff account for less than 0.5% of its total workforce and less than 0.1% of its research and development personnel.
Park said the lukewarm responses from the two chipmakers on fixed-term employment and a longer settlement period for flexible working hours showed that "the labor deregulation carve-outs in the mega district plan are not something individual companies particularly want. Business lobby groups are simply seizing the moment to push for them."
"For the mega districts to succeed, we must not get bogged down in a wasteful debate over easing labor rules," he said. "The law should be written to guarantee workers' health and employment while focusing on what individual companies genuinely need — expanded power infrastructure and the training of skilled technical workers."
