A police-turned-lawmaker created an unusual debate by declaring he would not be responding to any telephone calls outside of working hours.

Rep. Pyo Chang-won of the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea said on Twitter on Wednesday that his office at the National Assembly would not answer any the telephone calls between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., and between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. during the weekdays.

The move -- considered bold in the country notorious for long working hours -- was met with mixed reactions. South Korea’s average yearly working hours reached 2,285 in 2015, the longest of any OECD member.

Unlike private companies and government agencies, there was no rule governing working hours for lawmakers.

“I think we can work more efficiently by separating when to work and when to take a break,” Pyo said.

The former criminology professor has gained fame by being the country‘s first profiler and for his biting criticisms of the established system and President Park Geun-hye’s stance on civil liberty. He joined politics last year and won a seat in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

The 50-year-old said that his aides and staff were often forced to work overtime to respond to calls from ordinary citizens and reporters.

Those working at other lawmakers’ offices said that the former police officer’s celebrity status tended to attract more calls than the other first-term lawmakers.

Instead, the opposition lawmaker vowed to communicate more frequently via online platforms by keeping communication channels open at all times. 


To make the case for his decision, Pyo cited the Labor Standards Act, which governs conditions for workers in South Korea. The regulation, implemented in 2014, stipulates that workers shall not work no longer than 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. It also limits overtime to 12 hours per week.

Pyo’s decision was welcomed by some parliamentary aides who said their work was often distracted by “frivolous” phone calls leaving them less time to actually work on sorting out requests from their constituents.

“Not answering to calls doesn’t mean leaving the office and going home,” 33-year-old staff aide to an opposition lawmaker’s office. “Using telephone is not the only method to file a request or complain. I don’t think it should be taken for granted that the aides stay late at the office to answer calls,” the staff said, wishing to remain unnamed.

But some citizens cautioned that the decision would hamper the work ethics among public servants.

“A lawmaker’s office is not a bank (where you have to keep to the working hours),” Yoon Gye-hun, 30-year-old office worker in Seoul, saying that the Assembly already enjoys superiority in authority over most stakeholders trying to reach out to the lawmakers.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)