Due to the law, many were cut off... Gyeongnam Small Business Association says, "Minimum wage should be applied by region and industry"

The Gyeongnam Small Business Association held a press conference urging improvements to the minimum wage system. / Photo by Se-ryeong Lee ryeong@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] The Gyeongnam Small Business Association held a press conference on the 14th at the Gyeongnam Provincial Government Press Room to urge improvements to the minimum wage system.

Shin Young-cheol, the chairman of the association, said, “The minimum wage, which was 6,470 won in 2017, has increased by 42% to 9,160 won this year,” adding, “Because of the minimum wage meant to protect vulnerable groups, small business owners had to let go of part-time workers and employees with a heavy heart, as if cutting off their own limbs.”

He claimed, “During the disaster of COVID-19, we fulfilled our social responsibility and duty by participating in quarantine measures and suffered huge losses, but the government ignores the harsh reality faced by small business owners.”

Chairman Shin stated, “The current minimum wage does not consider the payment capacity of small business owners at all,” and urged, “According to Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the Minimum Wage Act, the employer’s payment capacity should be reflected in the minimum wage, and it should be applied differently by region and industry.”

Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the Minimum Wage Act specifies that the minimum wage is determined by considering workers’ living expenses, wages of similar workers, labor productivity, and income distribution ratio, and in this case, it can be set separately by type of business.

The association announced that following the National Assembly plenary session on the 8th and the press conference on this day, it plans to hold another press conference in front of the Ministry of Employment and Labor building in Sejong City on the 16th.

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