Government has been calling for a revision to the system to allow such workers to put in additional hours when necessary. South Korea’s exports increased from a year earlier in the first 10 days of this month on strong demand for shipbuilding and automobiles. Outbound shipments reached US$13.87 billion in the March 1-10 period, up 2.9 percent from $13.48 billion tallied over the same period last year. The number of working days during this period stood at 5.5, compared with six days last year, according to the Korea Customs Service. The daily average volume of exports increased 12.3 percent on-year over the cited period, the trade agency said. The government earlier said it will review ways to improve the work hour system for the chip industry. It had been discussing legislating a special bill aimed at exempting semiconductor workers from the country’s 52-hour workweek system but failed to reach an agreement. It is deeply concerning that only our semiconductor industry remains hindered by labor hour regulations, industry minister Ahn Duk-geun said.