78% of Office Workers Say Minimum Wage Should Be at Least 11,000 Won Next Year

85.6% of Respondents Say "Wages Have Effectively Decreased"
Average Desired Monthly Salary Increase Amount '836,000 Won'

As discussions on next year's minimum wage intensify, a survey found that 77.6% of office workers believe the minimum wage should be 11,000 KRW per hour, and 40.5% think it should be at least 12,000 KRW. This amount is higher than this year's minimum wage of 9,620 KRW but less than the 12,210 KRW demanded by labor groups.

On the 25th, Workplace Bullying 119 announced that it commissioned the public opinion research firm 'Embrain Public' to conduct a survey of 1,000 office workers from the 9th to the 14th, which yielded these responses.

On the 4th, near Hyehwa Station in Seoul, members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions held up hand placards calling for an increase in the minimum wage at the "National Workers' Rally for the Resignation of the Yoon Seok-yeol Administration." Photo by Yonhap [Image source=Yonhap News]

When asked about the level of next year's minimum wage, 37.1% responded with 11,000 KRW per hour, the highest proportion. This was followed by 20.8% for 13,000 KRW or more, 19.7% for 12,000 KRW, and 17.9% for 10,000 KRW or less. Workplace Bullying 119 explained, "This means that 4 out of 10 office workers believe the minimum wage should be 12,000 KRW per hour." On the 22nd, the labor representatives of the Minimum Wage Commission presented an initial proposal for next year's minimum wage at 12,210 KRW, a 26.9% increase from this year.

When asked whether wages have effectively decreased due to inflation, 85.6% agreed, while only 14.4% disagreed. The desired average monthly salary increase was 836,000 KRW.

Attorney Kwon Doo-seop of Workplace Bullying 119 urged a significant increase in the minimum wage, stating, "According to last year's wage status analysis data released by the Minimum Wage Commission, if the minimum wage reaches 11,000 KRW, about 5.57 million low-wage workers could benefit."

Sixty-five percent of office workers opposed the 'top-down sector-specific differential application,' which sets wages below the legal minimum wage for certain industries. Notably, women (72.0%) opposed sector-specific differential application more than men (59.6%).

On the afternoon of the 21st, members of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business held up related hand placards at a rally urging the freeze of the minimum wage near the National Assembly Station in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap

The opposition rate was higher among those with lower wages. Among workers earning less than 1.5 million KRW per month, 70.8% opposed it; for those earning 1.5 to 3 million KRW, 67.8% opposed it; and for those earning 3 to 5 million KRW, 61.0% opposed it, showing that opposition decreased as wages increased.

Workplace Bullying 119 explained, "Low-wage workers feel that if the minimum wage is applied differently by industry, they will inevitably face greater difficulties."

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