|
Knowledge Economy Minister Lee Yoon-ho, in a recent Korea-Japan energy conference, asked Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Amari Akira to consider jointly introducing daylight saving time.
A collaborative policy on daylight saving time, he reasoned, will create synergy, as Korea and Japan use the same standard time. However, Minister Amari demurred, saying, "Though the legislation of summer time is being pushed through, it's still inappropriate for working-level officials to discuss the matter."
In May, 250 members of the National Diet of Japan formed a society to promote the introduction of summer time. The bill, drafted by both ruling and opposition Diet members, proposes turning clocks an hour ahead from 2 a.m. the last Sunday of March to 2 a.m. the last Sunday of October.
Supported by the business community, the National Diet of Japan has pushed ahead with a summer time bill four times since 1995. Critics suggest, however, that daylight saving time will only prolong working hours.
The Korean government shelved the idea of introducing daylight saving time last year. But financial institutions are now reviving the idea. Banks are studying a formula whereby working hours are advanced by one hour from the current 9:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., claiming it will boost productivity and improve quality of life. The Federation of Korean Industries has published a publicity pamphlet asserting that daylight saving time, if introduced, will save energy worth US$100 million a year and increase production and consumption revenues to the tune of W2 trillion (US$1=W1,017).
Korean labor circles are opposed to summer time on the grounds that it will only prolong working hours since Korean corporate culture makes it hard to leave work and go home on time.
In May, the Japanese Society of Sleep published a report asserting that the introduction of daylight saving time would increase depression and suicide, causing economic loss worth 1.2 trillion yen (W932 per 100 yen). Meanwhile, the Russian Parliament is considering abolishing daylight saving after the system was seen to increase cases of acute myocardial infarction and suicide among workers.
Led by the Sapporo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the city in Hokkaido, Japan tested daylight saving time for three years from 2004 by having 1,468 businesses and organizations start work an hour early. Some 70 percent of participants in the experiment subsequently supported summer time. Should the system be enforced across Hokkaido, a report says, the economy will be strengthened by an increase in personal consumption worth 36.2 billion yen a year. How about a local autonomous government in Korea, too, piloting a summer time by adjusting working hours without turning clocks an hour ahead?
The column was contributed by Chosun Ilbo in-house columnist Kim Dong-seop.
|
