[Anchor]

The Minimum Wage Commission discussed whether to apply minimum wage standards to contract-based workers, such as delivery drivers and couriers, but the proposal ultimately failed. The commission now plans to recommend that the government improve the minimum wage system.

Reporter Jeon Hyeong-u has this exclusive report.

[Reporter]

For the first time in history, the Minimum Wage Commission officially placed the application of minimum wage to contract-based workers on its agenda this year.

The proposal aimed to apply the legal provisions for contract-based minimum wages to special employment workers and platform workers, such as delivery riders and designated drivers. It sought to set a minimum pay per service and mandate that employers or platforms pay contract workers at least that legal minimum.

[Kim Min-kyu, Delivery Rider/Rider Union: It used to be around 3,000 won per delivery. One day, it dropped to the 2,000-won range, and now, even 1,000-won deliveries are appearing. When you break it down, there are more cases than you might think where it doesn't even meet the hourly minimum wage.]

After three rounds of deliberation, the proposal for a contract-based minimum wage was put to a vote last month, but it was rejected by a vote of 11 to 15 amid opposition from the business sector.

[Ryu Gi-seop, Labor Commissioner/Federation of Korean Trade Unions (June 12): I raise strong questions about being overly confined to legal judgments and interpreting this only through ex-post standards.]

It has been confirmed that the Minimum Wage Commission has decided to recommend that the government develop measures to improve the minimum wage system, including the issue of contract-based minimum wages.

The draft recommendation obtained by SBS states, "Improvements to the minimum wage system are necessary due to the spread of AI and the growth of platform businesses." It further requests that the Ministry of Employment and Labor "establish a task force for system improvement in the second half of this year to develop measures regarding the scope of minimum wage application and decision-making criteria."

The goal is for the government to establish the relevant systems and foundations for contract-based minimum wages so that they can be utilized in next year's minimum wage deliberations.

While opposition from the business sector is expected, if the government introduces reform measures following this recommendation, discussions on introducing minimum pay for contract-based workers are expected to gain momentum once again.

(Video reporting: Lee Byeong-ju, Video editing: Kim Ho-jin, Graphics: Hwang Se-yeon)