▲ This undated file photo, provided by the Gwangju metropolitan city government, shows a candidate site for a new semiconductor production cluster. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, July 31 (Yonhap) -- The government is reviewing plans to significantly ease labor regulations for a new semiconductor production cluster to be built in the southwestern city of Gwangju, including relaxing the 52-hour workweek rule, informed officials said Friday.

The labor ministry briefed some lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party on Monday on the proposed direction of a special labor law for the Gwangju cluster, according to ministry and parliamentary officials.

The ministry's report included a plan to remove the 52-hour workweek limit for managers and researchers in the top 3 percent of income earners, exempt them from overtime, night and holiday work allowances, and instead provide them with fixed allowances, they noted.

The nation's 52-hour workweek law, introduced in 2018 to prevent overwork, mandates that overtime be limited to 12 hours a week, capping the total workweek at 52 hours.

In addition, the government is considering extending the basis period for the selective working hour system from the current one month to six months.

The selective working hour system is designed to allow employees to work intensively during a specific period, as long as their total working hours over the basis period do not exceed the limit.

If the basis period is extended to six months, an employee could work 80 hours a week for 16 consecutive weeks and shorter hours for the remaining 10 weeks while maintaining an average of 52 hours per week over a period of 26 weeks.

The government is also reviewing plans to extend the employment period of fixed-term workers, currently set at two years, by an additional two years upon agreement by the concerned workers.

But the labor sector has strongly opposed the proposed deregulation, arguing it would leave workers overworked and only produce bad jobs in the new semiconductor cluster.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said in a statement that jobs created in the new semiconductor cluster cannot be considered future industry jobs or good jobs if they consist of four-year contracts, expanded dispatched labor and long working hours without overtime pay.

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