Labor Sector Demands Next Year's Minimum Wage at '10,890 Won'... 18.9% Increase

Jeong Mun-ju, head of policy at the Korean Federation of Trade Unions and a worker representative, is holding up a sign related to the differentiated application of the minimum wage at the 4th plenary meeting held on the afternoon of the 16th at the Minimum Wage Commission meeting room in the Government Complex Sejong, Sejong City. Photo by Yonhap News

The labor sector has proposed an initial demand for next year's minimum wage at 10,890 KRW per hour (2,276,010 KRW per month).

On the afternoon of the 21st, the worker representatives of the Minimum Wage Commission held a press conference before the 5th plenary meeting and presented an initial demand for next year's minimum wage at 10,890 KRW per hour. This is based on 209 hours per month, totaling 2,276,010 KRW.

This is 1,730 KRW (18.9%) higher than this year's minimum wage of 9,160 KRW. The worker representatives argued that "a realistic increase in the minimum wage is necessary as a policy measure to prevent future inequality and polarization following the recent economic crisis of low growth and high inflation."

They added, "As economic conditions worsen with stagflation of low growth and high inflation after COVID-19, the situation for low-income groups is deteriorating further," emphasizing that "if the minimum wage is raised at a level below the average wage increase rate of all workers, wage inequality will deepen."

They further explained, "The minimum wage increase rate applied in 2021 was the lowest ever at 1.5%, but the monthly ordinary wage in the Employment Status Survey by employment type increased by 3.3%, and the hourly ordinary wage increased by 3.1%. The total wage amount for workplaces with 100 or more regular workers also rose by 3.6% in 2021, and data from the Minimum Wage Commission predicted a nominal wage increase rate of 5.1% in 2022."

The determination of the minimum wage increase will proceed by narrowing the gap between the initial demands submitted by the labor and management sectors. Although the management sector has not yet disclosed its initial demand for next year's minimum wage, it is highly likely to request a freeze.

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