Hee-eun Park, Vice Chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), abruptly left her seat during the 9th plenary meeting of the Minimum Wage Commission held at the Government Sejong Complex at 11:19 p.m. on the 12th and held a press conference. (Photo by Chae-seok Moon)
[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] On the 12th, at the full meeting of the Minimum Wage Commission deliberating and deciding next year's minimum wage, members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a key faction of the workers' representatives, abruptly left their seats.
At 11:19 PM that day, both labor and management sides resumed negotiations after a 3 hour and 30 minute recess that began at 8:40 PM, but failed to reach a compromise. Until just before, through a third revised draft compared to the initial draft, the gap had been narrowed to 270 won with the labor side proposing 9,300 won per hour and the management side 9,030 won. Before the meeting, the gap was 1,700 won, so this was a dramatic narrowing.
However, just before negotiations, the KCTU members left their seats. Five members of the Korean Federation of Trade Unions (KFTU), who are also workers' representatives, remained seated.
Park Hee-eun, Vice Chairperson of the KCTU, explained at a press conference, "Even in the last year of the Moon Jae-in administration, a proposal close to 10,000 won per hour for the minimum wage did not emerge. We insisted that raising the minimum wage is essential to secure a safety net for low-wage workers during the COVID-19 disaster period and to resolve polarization and inequality, but such voices were not reflected at all in the Minimum Wage Commission."
When asked whether they would return for the 10th full meeting after midnight, Vice Chairperson Park said, "We have withdrawn," and left the venue.
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