The South Korean government will reconsider plans to increase weekly working hours to 69 following backlash from women's rights and younger working age groups. Bloomberg reported the office of President Yook Suk Yeol instructed his agencies to communicate better with the public, ', especially with Generation Z and millennials,' press secretary Kim Eun-hye said in a statement.  The Korean government introduced the idea earlier in the year, much to the public's dismay.

The Korean Women's Associations United called the move sexist, saying it would further strengthen the ideology that men are breadwinners and women are caretakers.  The women's rights group also noted that the policy would undermine women's ability to endure stable employment.

Employment and Labor Minister Lee Jeong-sik said that the proposal would have allowed employees to negotiate the terms of their written agreement with a worker's representative to prevent long working hours.  However, the Korean Women's Association argued that most female workers work in unorganised, small-scale businesses without a labour union.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in 2021, South Korea was the most overworked country in Asia, logging an average of 1,915 hours, which is 199 more hours than the average among member countries of the OECD, Bloomberg reported.