By Choi Sung-jin
Despite the government's official denial, the debate over Korea's bringing back daylight saving time this summer has not completely subsided among officials.
Its proponents say if the nation advances the clock during summer, people will arrive at _ and leave _ the office an hour earlier, having more time for leisure and consumption and helping the economic recovery. Opponents claim daylight saving will make the nation's notoriously long work hours even longer, with few workers getting off earlier than before.
Korea introduced daylight saving before and during the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Former President Lee Myung-bak tried to implement it in 2009, too, but gave up because opponents claimed the system would lengthen office hours.
Some government officials recently floated the idea of reintroducing the system, citing the need to keep up with international standards and boost domestic demand.
Japan plans to introduce daylight saving this summer, leaving only two countries among OECD members _ Korea and Iceland _ that do not adopt the system. Iceland has no need for daylight saving because the sun seldom sets during summer.
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance made it clear last week that the ministry has no such plans, at least so far.
Critics of the government also say the system will go nowhere unless the government can force employers to let their workers go home earlier. "What the people are lacking in is not time to spend money, but the money itself," a commentator said.