According to recent OECD data released on Sunday, South Korea's average annual working hours decreased by 32 hours in 2025, falling to 1,833 hours from 1,865 hours the previous year. Despite this steady decline driven by government initiatives like the 2018 52-hour workweek system, South Korean labor remains significantly higher than the OECD average of 1,736 hours. Specifically, South Koreans worked 97 hours more than the OECD average and 235 hours more than workers in Japan. While Mexico reported the highest hours at 2,205, Germany reported the lowest at 1,332. South Korea currently ranks sixth among the 36 OECD nations for which data was available. Looking forward, the South Korean government has established a strategic goal to reduce real yearly working hours to the 1,700-hour level by the year 2030.