Seodaemun District to Pilot a 'Four-and-a-Half-Day Workweek'... Employees Can Work Half Days on Fridays

[Financial News] Seodaemun District in Seoul is launching a pilot program for a 'four-and-a-half-day workweek.'
Seodaemun District announced on the 29th that all departments and dong community centers will begin piloting the four-and-a-half-day workweek on October 1. 
The pilot program does not establish a new system. Instead, it focuses on making effective use of the existing flexible working hours system. Under this system, employees can choose when to start and end work each day within a set range. Depending on the organization, core hours may be designated during which employees must be at work, or employees may choose their schedules within designated start-time windows. 
In Seodaemun District, statutory working hours will not be reduced. Employees will maintain a 40-hour workweek under the current Local Public Officials Service Regulations while flexibly adjusting their working hours. From Monday through Friday, they can add up to four hours to one day's schedule and reduce their hours by the same amount on a day of their choice.
For example, employees can work one additional hour each day from Monday through Thursday, or work four extra hours on Thursday and then work only four hours on Friday. Daily working hours can be adjusted in 10-minute increments within a range of 4 to 12 hours. The hours from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 to 4 p.m. will be designated as core hours to ensure that civil complaint services and interdepartmental collaboration are not disrupted.
Since its introduction, the flexible working hours system has had an actual utilization rate of only about 2.5% among all employees. The number of employees who used the system at least once a year was 36 in 2024, 37 in 2025 and 37 as of September this year. There has been little change among the approximately 1,500 employees.
Each department and dong community center will select at least one pilot participant and have that employee use the flexible working hours system at least once a month. Employees who are not pilot participants may also apply by the previous day and use the system voluntarily.
The district plans to expand the experience of flexible working hours across the entire organization while also examining potential work gaps and burdens that may arise during the pilot. This will help establish standards for the system's stable implementation.
Pilot participants from each department and dong community center will be finalized by September 30. After the pilot runs from October through June next year, the district will pursue an expansion in July 2027 based on the results.
The district will track the number of users and usage frequency each month and compare them with the previous annual figures of 36 to 37 employees. It will also conduct an employee satisfaction survey in the second half of 2027. The district plans to analyze changes in utilization and employees' perceived work-life balance, and recommend that the central government revise the Local Public Officials Service Regulations and make other necessary improvements.
Seodaemun District head Park Woon-gi said, "Even if a system exists, it cannot be called a good system if employees cannot use it because they feel self-conscious. Ensuring that employees maintain a healthy work-life balance is the starting point for a healthy organizational culture."

[email protected] Lee Seol-young Reporter