People Power Party Rep. Koh Dong-jin (Yonhap) Rep. Koh Dong-jin of the main opposition People Power Party introduced a bill Friday to exempt semiconductor research and development personnel nationwide from South Korea’s 52-hour workweek cap.The bill from Koh, a former Samsung Electronics chief executive, comes amid reports that the government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea are considering exempting chipmakers in the southwestern Honam region from the workweek cap as part of plans to develop a second semiconductor belt there.The proposed belt is one of three national “megaprojects” unveiled by the Lee Jae Myung administration in late June. The government is reportedly preparing legislation to introduce the regional exemption with support from the ruling party.Koh’s bill would revise the Special Act on Strengthening and Supporting the Competitiveness of the Semiconductor Industry, which was enacted in January and is scheduled to take effect in September.Koh said special working-hour rules must be applied uniformly to the semiconductor industry nationwide, regardless of region, such as the country's southwest or Gyeonggi Province, home to semiconductor hubs."The Democratic Party and the Lee Jae Myung administration had persistently opposed the 52-hour workweek exemption in chipmakers, but the party completely shifted its stance ... and is considering lifting the 52-hour workweek regulation for the southwestern region," Koh said."This is truly nothing but 'double standards' by the Democratic Party, for the Democratic Party and of the Democratic Party."Koh said the workweek regulation should not be discriminately applied depending on region, labeling the idea "illogical" and saying it raises concerns about basic business principles such as fair competition among companies and equity among workers.Rep. Kang Jun-hyeon, senior spokesperson of the Democratic Party, said Friday that the party "has yet to reach a conclusion" regarding the matter, adding the agenda needs sufficient contemplation because there are conflicting opinions from within the party.The controversy resurrected debate in the process of introducing the special act to support chipmakers in January, in a country home to leading chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.Although the party once sought to advocate for the chip industry's partial exemption from the workweek regulation in introducing the special law when the party was chaired by Lee Jae Myung early last year, the Democratic Party ended up removing the clause for a workweek exemption upon resistance from umbrella unions.