Asia Times: The Koreas


	June 22, 2002	atimes.com

The Koreas

World Cup fever challenges Korea's six-day week

SEOUL - The pressure has been on South Korea for some time to allow its workers into the modern world of the five-day work week (see What, no weekend? South Korea's reactionary employers June 7). Now as the national team faces a crucial quarterfinal match against Spain on Saturday - a normal work day for many - the pressure to give employees at least that day off is irresistible. Almost.

The giant Samsung Group has been sourly bucking the soccer madness that has spread throughout the nation, as the soccer team led by Dutch coach Guus Hiddink has reached unprecedented heights. As of Friday, it was still only "considering" shutting down operations for the match against Spain.

In a bid to show that it is not utterly heartless, however, the group's head office, which is in front of Seoul's City Hall Plaza where a huge number of people are expected to be on the streets cheering, announce that it would make its basement toilets available to the public.

On the other end of the labor-relations spectrum is the LG Group, which already gives its employees Saturdays off. South Korea's banks, too, have recently begun phasing in a five-day week. Most other groups are in between, giving alternate Saturdays off, and Koreans lucky enough to work for such semi-enlightened firms will be free to enjoy the Korea-Spain match, which kicks off at 3.30 pm local time in Gangju. These companies include SK, Hanwha, Hyundai Motor, Daewoo Motor and Kolon. Hyundai Development Co will make Saturday a holiday, but it will make next Saturday a working day.

Meanwhile, Hansol, Hyosung, Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering will only work in the morning and give the rest of the day off to their employees.

The Hyundai Department Store is taking a pragmatic approach. Predicting that about 70 percent of its normal Saturday clientele will prefer soccer to shopping anyway this weekend, it will let its employees at its outlets in Busan and Ulsan have the day off.

(Saturday won't be a day off for Pepe Escobar, Asia Times Online's Roving Eye. He will be at the Korea-Spain match and will launch a series of reports on Korea's World Cup experience starting in our edition of June 25.)

(Asia Pulse/Yonhap)