The Korean Chemical, Textile and Food Workers' Union (KCTU) IT Committee held an interim reporting session for their 2026 joint demands on March 24.

Back in 2025, the IT Committee rolled out four major joint demands: establishing workplace anti-harassment committees, ensuring transparency in performance evaluations, reforming transfer procedures during restructuring, and clarifying worker rights during corporate M&A. Major IT and gaming companies have been partially adopting these terms.

This year, the spotlight is on the four-and-a-half-day workweek. The push comes from a blend of factors: the social shift toward shorter hours—symbolized by the Gyeonggi Province 4.5-day workweek pilot project and government pledges—the persistent demands from IT and game industry workers for the abolition of the comprehensive wage system and the introduction of flexible and remote work, and the growing consensus that AI should handle routine tasks so humans can focus on creative output.

Shin Hwan-seop, the head of the KCTU, stated, "Thanks to our union's efforts, the comprehensive wage system has been almost entirely eliminated in IT and gaming firms where we have a presence. Now, we are taking the next step to tackle the collective issues of job insecurity, workplace harassment, and fair evaluation to improve labor standards across the entire sector."

He added, "By reforming union laws, we are broadening the scope of collective bargaining. We will ensure that corporate changes are addressed at the bargaining table, and we will lead the way in securing job stability and rights for all workers in the IT, gaming, software, semiconductor, and AI development fields."

Vice Chair Oh Se-yoon, who leads the IT Committee, emphasized that their priority is creating a sustainable ecosystem for the IT industry. "To achieve this, we need an environment where IT workers can thrive, which in turn leads to services and games that satisfy users," he argued. "If our 2025 demands were about building a foundation for creative work, the 2026 call for a 4.5-day workweek is about enabling deeper immersion and productivity."

On the subject of AI, Oh was clear: "AI is forcing us to define the boundary between human and machine. We need to distinguish between what AI can do and what humans must do, focusing our workforce on creative tasks. Reducing working hours is necessary for this, which is why we are demanding a 4.5-day workweek."

He criticized management's insistence on longer hours in the AI era as "anachronistic," warning that "overworking IT staff who are expected to play a greater role is akin to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs."

He also pointed out the systemic danger of companies reducing junior hiring due to AI: "This cuts the ladder for juniors to grow into seniors and dims the industry's future. By reducing working hours through a 4.5-day workweek, companies could find the capacity to hire juniors instead."

He concluded that if firms continue to prioritize short-term gains by burning out workers, the IT sector will face a massive crisis. "We are uniting to look past short-termism and build a long-term, sustainable ecosystem in this rapidly changing AI era."

The IT Committee plans to present these joint demands during upcoming wage and collective bargaining negotiations. Oh noted, "We will explain that these demands are for the company's long-term benefit. If agreements are difficult to reach, the KCTU IT Committee will mobilize as an industrial union to ensure our goals are met."

Since 2018, the KCTU IT Committee has been organizing workers across the industry, including Naver, Nexon, Kakao, Woowa Brothers, Smilegate, NCSoft, NHN, Webzen, Hancom, Altibase, and InterparkTriple, to improve labor conditions.

These joint demands are aimed at addressing industry-wide issues such as workplace harassment, job security, and fair evaluation, with the goal of protecting the rights of IT and gaming workers and fostering a healthy labor culture.