The Democratic Party of Korea on the 20th introduced the so-called mega-cluster bill, renamed the Ultra-Wide Special Zone Act, to support large-scale investment in advanced industries in provincial regions. The party plans to introduce two separate bills — one containing labor exemptions such as a carve-out from the 52-hour workweek, an issue sharply contested between labor and management, and another excluding them — and then merge them in committee review to produce a final version. Han Byung-do, the party's floor leader, said there are "diverse views from all sectors of society surrounding labor-hour exemptions and other issues," adding that the party "will not fix a deadline for passage and will allow for ample deliberation and debate." In other words, while promising to spur large corporate investment, the party has pushed back discussion of the very deregulation that matters most, without even setting a timeline. Critics say the party is being overly deferential to organized labor.
The Ultra-Wide Special Zone Act, originally pursued as the mega-cluster bill, would bind multiple local governments into a single economic bloc, shorten permit procedures and concentrate support in electricity and water supply as well as fiscal, financial and tax measures. The party had sought passage during this year's regular parliamentary session, but deliberations were delayed as labor groups pushed back against easing working-hour and employment rules. Moving the legislation forward, even belatedly, is welcome. Yet businesses remain deeply uneasy because the labor exemptions that will determine whether the mega-cluster succeeds or fails are still undecided.
For advanced industries such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence, flexible deployment of personnel suited to research and development is paramount in the race to capture markets first. That is why management has called for a "white-collar exemption" from the 52-hour workweek for highly paid professionals and R&D staff, along with a longer permissible term for fixed-term employment. A working-level body for the single-issue mega-cluster social dialogue has met five times since last month, but opposition from labor groups has prevented the two sides from narrowing their differences.
With labor resistance running strong, proceeding first with legislation on zone development and investment support may be the practical choice. But as the United States, Japan and other major economies pour national resources into nurturing advanced industries, Korea alone cannot afford to defer easing the 52-hour workweek, a core regulatory constraint. The government and the ruling party must set firm deadlines for resolving each point of contention, shore up provisions on the scope of application and workers' right to health, and ensure that the labor exemptions are reflected in the final bill. Deliberation and debate must not become a pretext for deferring to labor and putting off decisions. An Ultra-Wide Special Zone Act without labor exemptions is nothing more than a half-finished law.