Mapo-gu Confirms 2021 Living Wage at 10,702 KRW per Hour

2021 Living Wage: 10,702 KRW per Hour, 2,236,718 KRW Monthly Salary Equivalent

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Mapo-gu (Mayor Yudonggyun) decided at the Mapo-gu Living Wage Deliberation Committee held in writing on the 5th to set the 2021 living wage at 10,702 KRW per hour (2,236,718 KRW per month) and apply it from January next year.

The district announced that it determined next year's living wage by comprehensively considering the 'Seoul-type 3-person household expenditure model,' which takes into account household expenditure values, poverty thresholds, housing costs, and private education expenses, as well as Seoul's inflation rate, the difficult economic situation due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), financial conditions, and the minimum wage increase rate (1.5%).

The 2021 living wage in Mapo-gu is 1,982 KRW (22.7%) higher than the government's announced minimum wage for next year of 8,720 KRW per hour, and this amount is 179 KRW (1.7%) higher than this year's living wage of 10,523 KRW.

The living wage system was introduced to enable low-wage workers to lead a truly dignified life by guaranteeing an income level somewhat higher than the minimum wage, comprehensively considering prices, housing costs, education expenses, and cultural expenses. Currently, about 100 local governments nationwide are implementing or reviewing the living wage. Mapo-gu enacted the Living Wage Ordinance in July 2015 and has been implementing the living wage system since 2016.

The living wage applies to workers directly hired by Mapo-gu and institutions funded or supported by Mapo-gu (Mapo Facilities Management Corporation, Mapo Cultural Foundation), as well as private consigned workers fully supported by district funds. However, temporary workers receiving national or city subsidies are excluded from the living wage application.

Yudonggyun, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, "Although the increase is small to support workers going through even more difficult times due to COVID-19, I hope it will help stabilize the lives of workers working in Mapo-gu even a little," and added, "We will continue to strive to realize a labor-respecting culture and improve the actual quality of life for workers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.