Haenam-gun, Jeonnam's First County-Level Introduction of Living Wage

From Next Year, Hourly Wage Set at 9,670 Won for Military-Affiliated Workers and Others

View of Haenam-gun Office Building (Photo by Haenam-gun)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do announced on the 23rd that it held a committee meeting on the 17th to decide the 2021 living wage and determined next year's living wage to be 9,670 won, which is 950 won more than the minimum wage of 8,720 won.

The living wage was first introduced in the United States in 1994 to supplement the minimum wage and guarantee workers a minimum standard of living, and it is currently implemented in 111 local governments in South Korea.

In Haenam-gun, Councilor Lee Jeong-hwak of Haenam-gun Council proposed the Haenam-gun Living Wage Ordinance on March 16, which will be enacted and come into effect on January 1 of next year.

The applicable subjects are workers employed by the county and workers belonging to county-invested and county-funded institutions. Workers temporarily hired for projects supported by national, provincial, or county funds, such as public work and community projects, and workers receiving wages above the living wage are excluded from the application.

A county official stated, “With the introduction and implementation of the living wage, we expect it to help stabilize the lives and improve the quality of life of local workers amid the COVID-19 situation.”

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