[Anchor]

The decision on next year's minimum wage has once again missed its legal deadline. The labor sector is calling for an increase to 12,000 won per hour, citing high inflation, while the business sector is pushing to freeze it at the current 10,320 won, arguing that the burden on small business owners has reached its limit.

Reporter Baegun 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 expenses like food or rent, so I believe it should at least account for the inflation rate.]

Self-employed individuals, meanwhile, express their burden, stating that the current minimum wage is already too high.

[Ko Jang-soo/Cafe Owner: I used to employ eight people, but now we are barely holding on with four. If the cost burden increases further, the first thing I would have to consider is cutting one more person from the payroll.]

The labor and management representatives discussing next year's minimum wage failed to reach a conclusion by today (June 29), which was the legal deadline for deliberation.

The gap between the labor sector's demand for 12,000 won and the business 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 over the past three years has failed to keep pace 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 labor is not for luxury or savings. It is a survival cost for living a minimum, decent life.]

Conversely, the business sector argues that the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises and self-employed individuals 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: Looking at our country's minimum wage relative to the median wage, average wage, and annual after-tax conversion, it is already higher than the average of G7 countries.]

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 benefits, digital transformation support, and productivity enhancement consulting.]

The Minimum Wage Commission has requested both labor and management to submit revised proposals at the 10th plenary session tomorrow. Attention is now focused on whether the two sides can narrow their differences.

(Video reporting: Lee Moo-jin | Video editing: Jung Yong-hwa | Graphics: Hwang Se-yeon | VJ: Jung Han-wook)