The Korean Chemical, Textile & Food Workers' Union (hereinafter referred to as KCTFWU) has fired back against the suggestion that the current crisis in the Korean gaming industry stems from short working hours, blaming management failure instead.

The KCTFWU’s statement follows a closed-door game industry site meeting held on September 24 with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, where NCSoft CEO Park Byung-moo cited China's '996 culture' (working from 9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week) as a reason to loosen the 52-hour workweek to compete with Chinese developers.

The KCTFWU retorted, "The 996 work system is already illegal even in China, and citing it as a model is a dangerously anachronistic remark," adding that "attempts to justify long working hours only serve to erode the industry's competitiveness."

The union argues that the crisis is rooted in a failure of management to adapt to shifting industrial landscapes, a lack of strategic vision, and an inability to build development structures suited for the modern content market. The union pointed to Sweden's Paradox Interactive, which pursues a 4-day workweek, and Finland's Remedy Entertainment, which avoids crunch, as proof of the importance of 'a culture of sufficient rest and respect'.

Oh Se-yoon, Chairman of the IT Committee at KCTFWU, noted, "The current crisis is the result of prioritizing short-term profits over the creation of innovative new titles for years," and added, "The real problem is the attitude of shifting the risks of management failure onto the exhausted shoulders of developers and creators." He further stated, "The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism must stop listening only to corporate demands and start lending an ear to the workers actually creating the games."

Meanwhile, similar topics were reportedly discussed on the 15th at a K-Game field meeting attended by President Lee Jae-myung. Regarding the industry's call for 'flexible labor hour management', the President remarked, "There are two sides to this," and stated, "While we must consider the needs of business owners, we must ensure employees are not treated like consumables, and we need a wise policy solution that reflects both perspectives."

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