"Minimum Wage Threatens Small Business Survival... Reform the System and Apply Differentiated Rates"

Sogongyeon Holds 'Resolution Rally to Urge Minimum Wage System Improvement' at Sejong
Claims for Abolition of Weekly Holiday Allowance... "Additional Annual Labor Cost of 3.84 Million KRW"

The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise held the "2nd Rally to Urge Improvement of the Minimum Wage System" on the 16th in front of the Ministry of Employment and Labor building in Sejong City.
[Photo by Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] "In recent years, the minimum wage in our country has risen to a level that threatens the survival of small business owners."

The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business held the '2nd Resolution Rally to Urge Improvement of the Minimum Wage System' on the 16th in front of the Ministry of Employment and Labor building in Sejong City. About 1,000 members of affiliated organizations, small business owners, and self-employed individuals attended the rally. They called for △differential application of the minimum wage △improvement of the minimum wage discussion system △freezing the minimum wage △abolition of the weekly holiday allowance.

Oh Se-hee, president of the Federation, strongly criticized, "In recent years, the minimum wage has risen to a level that threatens the survival of small business owners. If the 2023 minimum wage is realized at 11,860 won, nearly 30% higher than this year, isn't that like saying 'let's all die together'?"

He pointed out, "Including the weekly holiday allowance, the actual minimum wage rises to 14,232 won per hour."

He also appealed, "Small business owners and self-employed people barely surviving in a large corporation-centered economic structure cannot afford a uniform application of the minimum wage. We strongly demand the legally guaranteed differential application of the minimum wage by industry."

Yoo Seung-geun, executive director of the Daejeon branch of the Korea Supermarket Cooperative Federation, explained the burden on employers' labor costs due to the weekly holiday allowance and the reality of 'split part-time jobs.' He then questioned, "Does this kind of split part-time job really help small business owners or part-time workers?"

Lee Doo-hee, head of the Chungnam branch of the Federation, raised his voice, saying, "If you really want to raise the minimum wage, you can apply different standards. It is legally permissible to apply differential rates by industry, so why insist on the same standard?"

At the rally, the Federation revealed through a 'weekly holiday allowance calculator' performance that, based on an 8-hour workday and 35 hours of weekly holiday time, the monthly weekly holiday allowance is 320,600 won, and the additional labor cost paid by small business owners over one year amounts to 3,847,200 won.

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