Small Business Owners Protest: "Average Monthly Income of 1.91 Million Won Is Less Than Part-Timers," Demand Guaranteed Minimum Income

This afternoon (June 9), the area in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, was filled with small business owners from across the country who set aside their livelihoods for the day.

Industry groups, including the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise, held a "Pan-Small Business Resolution Rally" today, strongly calling for the guarantee of survival rights for small business owners and a major shift in employment policy.

What small business owners are protesting most vehemently against are the "expansion of the Labor Standards Act to workplaces with fewer than 5 employees" and the "Basic Act for Working People," which are currently being pushed by politicians.

In particular, small business owners explain that if the bill to "expand the Labor Standards Act to workplaces with fewer than 5 employees" is passed, it will lead to massive additional labor costs due to overtime pay, night shift premiums, and paid holidays.

The small business owners criticized the bill, stating, "In a situation where a staggering 87% of domestic businesses are small-scale operations with 4 or fewer employees, unilateral legislation that does not consider payment capacity will only lead to a chain of bankruptcies."

They also demanded a phased approach by industry regarding the "Basic Act for Working People," which aims to guarantee the rights of freelancers and platform workers, arguing that applying it to special employment workers or freelancers would result in an additional cost of 5.05 million won per worker annually.

Demands for the reform of the minimum wage system and the abolition of the weekly holiday allowance also followed.

Song Chi-young, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise, argued in his opening speech, "The minimum wage, which has only risen for nearly 40 years, must now be stopped," and called for differential application by industry and region. In fact, as of 2024, the average monthly income of a small business owner was 1.91 million won, and in a survey conducted by the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise, 83% of respondents said they felt extreme pressure from the current minimum wage.

Small business owners held signs reading "Guarantee our right to survive," arguing that they, too, should be guaranteed a "minimum income" similar to the minimum wage system.

[Voice] Song Chi-young / Chairman of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise: We have gathered here to defend the desperate right to survive of 7.9 million small business owners who have been driven to the dark edge of a cliff.

Chairman Song demanded the establishment of a presidential committee for small business owners and the legalization of the right to organize. He warned that if the government and the National Assembly ignore the voices from the field and push ahead with their policies, they will launch an even larger nationwide general uprising in the future.

Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Kim Se-kyung | Video Editing by Lee Ui-seon | Graphics by Lee Soo-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.