OECD Data Show South Korea’s 2025 Annual Work Hours Fell but Still Rank Sixth-Highest

According to Lianhe Zaobao citing Yonhap, OECD data released on July 5 showed South Korea’s average annual working hours per person fell 32 hours from a year earlier to 1,833 hours in 2025, still 97 hours above the OECD average of 1,736 hours. The report said South Korea’s annual work hours have trended lower in recent years, including 2,163 hours in 2010, 2,082 hours in 2015 and 1,992 hours in 2018, when a 52-hour weekly cap was introduced. Among 36 OECD members with available data, South Korea ranked sixth-highest for annual work hours, and the government has set a roadmap to cut average annual hours to the OECD average—1,700-plus hours—by 2030.