(EDITORIAL from Korea JoongAng Daily on Aug. 12)

The presidential office is failing to provide clear leadership on the issue of 52-hour workweek exemptions for Korea's megaprojects, including semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers. President Lee Jae Myung emphasized the importance of a blitzkrieg approach, which prioritizes speed over mere speed, during a recent review meeting on these projects.

He expressed hope that the Honam semiconductor cluster would be implemented as quickly as the Kumamoto plant in Japan, which went from construction announcement to mass production in just three years and two months. However, the Korean government is hesitant to grant exemptions from the 52-hour workweek, despite claiming to want to benchmark the Kumamoto miracle.

This hesitation is due to concerns about labor consent and the need for deliberation, as well as the possibility that the government lacks a strong policy control tower. The presidential office's pro-labor stance and calls for a democratic process have led to debates between ministries, but the public wants to see responsible decisions made in the national interest rather than a government that only debates and delays action.