President Yoon Suk Yeol has ordered supplementary measures to the planned revision of the existing 52-hour workweek system that has sparked public concern over longer workweeks, calling anything past 60 hours per week "excessive."

The president’s comments were relayed by Ahn Sang-hoon, the senior presidential secretary for social affairs, in a press briefing on Thursday.

In response to widespread concern that the planned revision caps the workweek at 69 hours, the president reportedly said that more than 60 hours is excessive and regretted the lack of a reasonable upper threshold in the advance legal notice of the government’s revision.

Noting that there have long been calls to improve the rigidity of the current 52-hour workweek, Ahn said the revision is aimed at guaranteeing workers' right to choose when to work and when to rest by allowing hours to be calculated on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly or yearly basis.

The presidential aide said the government is expected to draw up the supplementary steps after listening to society's vulnerable workers, including young people, non-union workers and employees of small- to medium-sized enterprises.