<Anchor>
The Labor Minister announced the new government's labor policy yesterday (23rd).
We also looked closely at it at this time yesterday, and this morning the president said that it was not the official position of the government.
We will continue the story after looking at what reporter Jo Yoon-ha reported on how this happened.
<Reporter>
Yesterday at 11 am, Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik stood in front of reporters.
[Lee Jung-sik / Minister of Employment and Labor: This is Lee Jeong-sik, Minister of Employment and Labor.
Now, I will tell you about the direction of the labor market reform.] He said that
he would apply the 52-hour workweek flexibly and would consider expanding the calculation of overtime from weekly to monthly.
But this morning, on the way to work for the president, I answered a reporter's question that the labor community was against this plan.
[President Yoon Seok-yeol: I did not receive the report yesterday, so I appeared in the media this morning and checked in the morning, and when I checked in the morning, the Ministry of Labor did not announce it, but it was a situation where I was told to review the flexibility of working hours, and it is still the official position of the government. It was not announced as
Enlarging an image
An hour later, SBS reporters asked an official from the Ministry of Labor who participated in the policy announcement whether the president's statement was true.
Then, they responded, "Everyone is saying what kind of English it is" and "We are embarrassed too."
Another official responded by saying, 'We shared the briefing material with the presidential office'.
Another hour later, the ruling party floor leader also gave a different answer than the president, saying, "I have received the report."
[Kwon Seong-dong / People's Power Floor Leader: There was a discussion between the party governments.
Since we received a report, we have received a report rather than consultation.]
As the stories of the president, the Ministry of Labor, and the ruling party were different and interpretations were divided, the presidential office started to evolve in six hours.
An official from the presidential office argued that the announcement by the Ministry of Labor yesterday was an explanation of the implementation plan, but the media report came out like a final decision and caused misunderstandings.
Therefore, the president explained that he did not receive a report on the final draft, so he said he was not in an official position.
{ Video coverage: Choi Dae-woong, video editing: Park Ji-in, CG: Ban So-hee)
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<Anchor>
Yesterday, what was the content?
<Reporter>
Let's recap yesterday's presentation.
But let's expand this on a monthly basis. This is the government's direction.
In this way, in busy weeks, we work 60 hours a week, 70 hours a week, and in non-busy weeks, that is, in the rest of the week, we will work a little less, so that in terms of the whole month, let's set this to an average of 52 hours a week.
<Anchor>
Isn't that a presidential promise?
<Reporter>
That's right.
So this policy is what the president has been saying throughout the election period.
Let's listen to it once.
[President Seok-Yeol Yoon (December of last year): On an average of 52 hours a week, shouldn't this be flexible for 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months so that the working conditions can be agreed upon between labor and management...
.]
<Anchor>
What part did you take into consideration?
<Reporter>
Actually, the presidential office is not giving any explanation about that part.
However, according to our coverage, it is possible to work up to 92 hours a week right after the announcement.
<Anchor>
Why is reporting a problem?
<Reporter>
If you look at this, this is the data the Ministry of Labor was distributing to reporters last night.
If you look here, 92 hours of work, just pointing out this article, I strongly objected that it was extreme and impossible.
I called the reporters one by one and explained that this was a little different from the government announcement.
However, this is also a sensitive issue for the president. The president expressed his dissatisfaction with the 52-hour workweek as a candidate during his time as a candidate because his intentions were constantly distorted.
Let's listen first.
[President Yoon Seok-yeol (last February): No, you have to know exactly what to come out.
I never talked about the abolition of that minimum wage, and I never talked about the abolition of the 52-hour workweek.]
After all, if we take a look at what the officials say, as soon as labor reform is started, that is, as soon as we want to do something, aren't we supposed to work 92 hours a week, for a long time? Aren't you suffering from labor? As such attacks come in, the 92-hour workweek is not the official position of the government.
<Anchor>
Are you going to stop 'flexible working hours'?
<Reporter>
That's not it.
An official from the presidential office said that the president also sympathizes with this direction itself.
However, the minister's announcement was made like this, but seeing the confusion created by the words of the president, there are still voices mixed with concerns about which public officials can confidently pursue policies.