Chae never complained – worked to die

Last year, hundreds of South Koreans worked so hard that they died. The picture shows bank employees in Seoul – but that has nothing to do with the content of the text. Stock Photography.picture: Ahn Young-Joon / AP / TT

Chae Soo-Hong worked for a food supplier until the day he was found dead in the office. Weekdays consisted of trips and visits to the company's factories – weekends of paperwork and telephone conversations with employees.

"He did not complain and never stopped breathing.

Chae is one of hundreds of people who, according to official figures, were killed in South Korea last year. The phenomenon has its own term: gwarosa – a composition of Korean words for "overwork" and "death".

President Moon Jae-In promised to overcome the fatal societal problem. And in July, the government decided to reduce the maximum working week from 68 to 40 hours, with 12 paid overtime hours.

However, the new legislation only applies to companies with more than 300 employees. But that's not why Gabriel Jonsson, professor of Korean language and culture at Stockholm University, is skeptical.

"The idea is that people are working less and the reform suggests taking it seriously, but it's worth remembering that it's one thing to introduce one law and another to change mindsets," he said. told TT, pointing out that they were deeply rooted in South Korean culture.

"Confucianism was strong during the last dynasty of kings, which made us aware of the importance of the position of society.The status is very important and the view of different types of work is very hierarchical.

The country's industries and agriculture attract a foreign labor force from the poorest countries in Asia, while South Koreans generally seek high-paying jobs in the government or the country. large companies. Jonsson thinks the situation could worsen as the economy slows a few laps.

Young people find it harder to find attractive jobs and the competition is even tougher with more than 51 million people.

"When people have to move forward and show the rigid line, the result can be overwork and, at worst, suicide," he says.

Park Hyun-Suk attempted to obtain compensation for the death of her husband, but this was difficult because the authorities demanded proof that her husband had actually died because of his work.

"It was a challenge." He often left the house at seven in the morning and did not return before ten o'clock, but there was no logbook on the number of hours worked, she told CNN.

The breakthrough came when she discovered that her husband had passed a surveillance camera to go to work. Although hours of work at home can not be counted, it turned out that Chae worked 180 hours in the weeks before his death.

South Korean law does not accept gwarosa as the official cause of death. However, Park was entitled to compensation because the risk of heart attack and stroke increased beyond 60 hours per week of work for three consecutive months, according to authorities.

The contribution is a relief – but does not outweigh the sadness and guilt of Park known since August 2017. When Chae was getting ready to get to work, he complained of feeling tired.

– He did not go home that day. If I had just noticed the signals, it would not have happened.