United Future Party Criticizes Minimum Wage Decision Structure... "Political Decision Made, Not Economic"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] There have been calls from the United Future Party to address the structural issue where the minimum wage is effectively determined based on the vote of public interest commissioners selected by the government.

On the afternoon of the 14th, Yoon Hee-sook, Chairwoman of the Economic Innovation Committee of the United Future Party, criticized the decision to raise next year's minimum wage by 1.5% to 8,720 won during the full meeting of the Economic Innovation Committee at the National Assembly. She said, “At the beginning of the administration, the public interest commissioners were composed of pro-labor figures who signaled to significantly raise the minimum wage, and this time moderate figures were selected to fill the positions,” adding, “If this structure continues, every time the administration changes, there could be a bomb-like minimum wage setting that weakens the constitution of the Korean economy.”

Chairwoman Yoon pointed out, “Raising the minimum wage by 30% over two years in a highly developed capitalist country was a significant experiment,” and said, “As a result, automatic ordering systems called kiosks have been installed in every alley, unskilled young people were the first to lose their jobs, and the overall job creation mechanism has weakened.”

She emphasized, “The minimum wage decision is not based on economic grounds but purely political decisions,” and stressed, “The process of selecting public interest commissioners or influencing the minimum wage through unofficial channels or pressure, as is happening now, should no longer be tolerated.”

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