Minimum Wage for Next Year Set at 10,700 Won, Up 3.7%

[Anchor]

Overnight, a decision was reached to raise next year's minimum wage by 3.7%. The hourly rate will be 10,700 won, which translates to a monthly salary of 2,236,300 won.

Reporter Chae Heesun has the story.

[Reporter]

Following a marathon session, the Minimum Wage Commission decided on 10,700 won per hour as the minimum wage for next year.

This is an increase of 380 won, or 3.7%, from this year's minimum wage.

Previously, labor representatives had initially demanded a 16.3% increase to 12,000 won, while management proposed freezing it at 10,320 won.

The two sides subsequently narrowed the gap by presenting a series of revised proposals.

Ultimately, in their 13th round of negotiations, labor proposed 10,730 won per hour and management proposed 10,700 won as their final offers, but they failed to reach an agreement due to a 30-won difference.

The matter was put to a vote among the 27 committee members. The result was 11 votes for the labor proposal, 15 votes for the management proposal, and one invalid vote, leading to the adoption of the management's proposal as next year's minimum wage.

If labor and management reach a consensus within the deliberation range, a joint proposal is adopted; however, if they cannot bridge their differences, the minimum wage is decided through a vote.

[Kwon Soon-won / Chairperson of the Minimum Wage Commission: It is regrettable that we had to resort to a vote over a 30-won difference. (Nevertheless,) I believe it is significant in itself that the final proposals and voting options presented by both labor and management were the closest in history, as far as I can recall.]

The business sector stated, "It is unfortunate that we could not freeze the minimum wage given the difficult business reality faced by small and medium-sized enterprises and micro-business owners."

[Ryu Ki-jung / Executive Director of the Korea Enterprises Federation: The gap between the figures and the reality on the ground is too large, and self-employed individuals and small business owners are going through such a difficult process....]

The labor sector also expressed that the result was "highly disappointing."

[Ryu Ki-seop / Secretary General of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions: A 3.7% increase (for next year's minimum wage) is practically equivalent to a freeze and is far from sufficient to restore the minimum wage's function of guaranteeing a livelihood.]

In accordance with the Minimum Wage Act, the Minimum Wage Commission will submit the proposal for next year's minimum wage to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

The Minister of Employment and Labor must finalize and announce the minimum wage for next year by August 5, and it will take effect on January 1 of next year.

(Video coverage: Lee Jae-young, Kim Yoon-sung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.