[Anchor]
The decision on next year's minimum wage has missed its legal deadline once again. The labor sector, which argues for a significant increase due to high inflation, and the business sector, which claims that the burden on small business owners has reached its limit, remain in a sharp standoff.
Reporter Baek Woon has the story.
[Reporter]
Opinions remain divided even over the current minimum wage of 10,320 won per hour.
Young people say that with rising rent and food costs, the current minimum wage is barely enough to get by.
[Choi Hee-yeol/University Student: I think it is difficult to cover food costs or rent, so I believe it should at least reflect the inflation rate.]
Self-employed individuals, meanwhile, express their burden, stating that the current minimum wage is already too high.
[Go Jang-soo/Cafe Owner: I used to employ eight people, but now I am barely holding on with four. If labor costs increase further, the first thing I would have to consider is cutting one more person.]
The labor and management representatives tasked with discussing next year's minimum wage failed to reach a conclusion by yesterday, June 29, the legal deadline for deliberations.
The gap between the labor sector's demand for 12,000 won and the management sector's proposal to freeze it at the current 10,320 won stands at 1,680 won.
The labor sector argues that the average minimum wage increase rate over the past three years has failed to keep up with inflation, and that a monthly income of 2.5 million won must be guaranteed to cover living expenses.
[Lee Mi-sun/Vice Chair of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (June 25): The 12,000 won minimum wage demanded by the labor sector is not for luxury or savings. It is a survival cost for living a minimum decent life.]
On the other hand, the management sector contends that the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners to pay has reached its limit amid accumulated burdens from high inflation and raw material costs.
[Ryu Ki-jung/Executive Director of the Korea Enterprises Federation: Our country's minimum wage is already higher than the average of G7 nations when looking at the level relative to median and average wages, as well as the annual after-tax conversion.]
Experts suggest that even if the minimum wage is raised, providing policy support to reduce the burden on small business owners could be an alternative.
[Kim Ki-seung/Professor of Economics at Pusan National University: I believe we can reduce the burden on small business owners through measures such as social insurance premium support, tax incentives, digital transformation support, and productivity improvement consulting.]
The Minimum Wage Commission has requested both labor and management to submit revised proposals at the 10th plenary session today, June 30. Attention is focused on whether the two sides can narrow their differences.
Reported by Baek Woon | Video by Lee Moo-jin | Video Editing by Jung Yong-hwa | Graphics by Hwang Se-yeon | VJ by Jung Han-wook
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