Photo : YONHAP News
The ruling and opposition parties are blaming each other over the failure of the special semiconductor bill to gain approval from a parliamentary subcommittee.
Ruling People Power Party floor leader Kweon Seong-dong said Tuesday during a floor leadership committee meeting that the main opposition Democratic Party dismissed urgent appeals to strengthen the competitiveness of the country’s semiconductor industry.
Kweon said only South Korean chipmakers are bound to the 52-hour maximum workweek and competitors in other countries require their employees to work longer hours.
The ruling party wants the bill to include a clause that would exempt employers in the semiconductor industry from regulations limiting the workweek to 52 hours for workers in research and development roles.
Meanwhile, Democratic Party chief Lee Jae-myung said on Facebook that the bill failed on Monday because of the ruling party.
He said the ruling camp is dragging down the competitiveness of industries that the nation’s future depends on with what he called its “irresponsible obstinacy,” refusing to agree on any issues unless the bill included the exemption clause.
Lee said the rival camps initially agreed on other clauses, and he stressed the need to swiftly pass the parts of the bill that both parties agreed on to help semiconductor businesses facing hardship and to revive the economy.
