Two Major Labor Unions Demand "Ministry of Labor Apologize for Misinterpretation" of Ordinary Wage Guidelines

FKTU Calls for "Proactive Administrative Guidance"
KCTU Criticizes "Exploitation to Fatten Capital"

On the 6th, the two major labor unions criticized the Ministry of Employment and Labor's revised 'Ordinary Wage Labor-Management Guidance Directive,' calling for proactive administrative guidance and an apology for the misinterpretation.

Kim Dong-myeong, Chairman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, is reading a press statement. Photo by Yonhap News

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) stated in a press release that "to prevent confusion at the workplace, changes to regulations related to ordinary wages should be made in accordance with the Supreme Court precedent, along with proactive administrative guidance." They added, "We must supervise and guide to prevent irregular practices such as the introduction of performance- and job-based pay to avoid including these in ordinary wages, and swiftly support the simplification and stabilization of wage systems to eradicate low wages and long working hours, thereby thoroughly preventing the proliferation of unstable labor."

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said that the Ministry of Employment and Labor should first apologize for its previous incorrect administrative interpretations. The KCTU pointed out, "The Ministry previously interpreted conditional regular bonuses as not being part of ordinary wages, which ultimately led to an expansion of the scope of ordinary wage inclusion through workers' lawsuits. Due to the Ministry's anti-labor administrative interpretation, overtime, night, and holiday work allowances?earned through workers' hard labor?were exploited not to fill workers' pockets but to fatten capital."

Earlier, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the 'Ordinary Wage Labor-Management Guidance Directive' at a nationwide agency heads meeting, reflecting the Supreme Court's full bench ruling on ordinary wages issued in December last year.

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