Assemblyman Song Eon-seok Proposes Bill for Sector-Specific Minimum Wage Application

Song Eon-seok, a member of the People Power Party, proposed the "Minimum Wage Act Amendment" on the 21st, which mandates setting minimum wages by industry.

According to the amendment, minimum wages will be determined based on the type, scale, region, and age of the business, ensuring that the gap does not exceed a certain percentage.

Current law allows for minimum wages to be differentiated by business type, but except for the first year of implementation in 1988, the same minimum wage has been applied across all industries for 36 years.

Chairman Song Eon-seok Presiding Over the First Meeting of the Planning and Finance Committee
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Ju-seong = Song Eon-seok, member of the People Power Party and chairman of the National Assembly Planning and Finance Committee, is presiding over the first plenary meeting of the Planning and Finance Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of July 2, 2024.
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Song explained, "From 2018 to this year, the minimum wage has increased by 52% over seven years, and as the management conditions of self-employed individuals and the employment situation of low-wage workers have worsened, small and medium-sized enterprises and small business organizations have continuously requested differentiated application of the minimum wage."

In particular, there is an increasing number of self-employed people in restaurants, lodging, and other sectors who are closing their businesses or reducing staff because they cannot afford the sharply increased minimum wage.

Song added, "This leads to a decrease in low-skilled and simple labor jobs," and said, "This bill aims to minimize social conflicts and side effects caused by a uniform minimum wage and to revitalize the economy."

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