Self-Employed Voices Rise for "Minimum Wage Freeze and Industry-Specific Differential Application"

Minimum Wage Commission Meeting Held Since Previous Day
Min Sangheon, Co-Representative of Koja Chong, "If Increased Again, Self-Employed Cannot Endure"
Expresses Intention to Fight Against President-Elect Yoon Seok-yeol if Minimum Wage Raised
Labor Sector Opposes Due to Ambiguity in Industry-Specific Criteria and Labor Market Discrimination

The Corona Victims Self-Employed General Federation (Coja General Federation), consisting of 14 self-employed organizations including the Korea Federation of Restaurants, is holding a head-shaving ceremony at the "Government Condemnation Gwanghwamun Rally" held on the 15th at the Gwanghwamun Citizen Open Square in Seoul. They demanded the abolition of business hour restrictions, retroactive application of loss compensation and realization of 100% compensation, inclusion of self-employed persons with sales exceeding 1 billion won in loss compensation, preparation of separate support measures by Seoul and local governments, and additional application of loss compensation for all businesses opened after the outbreak of COVID-19. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] As the Minimum Wage Commission convened, self-employed business owners have begun raising their voices, demanding a freeze on the minimum wage and the application of differentiated rates by industry. They also expressed their intention to pressure President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol if these demands are not met.

The day before, the Minimum Wage Commission (Min Wage Commission) held a plenary meeting at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, and began deliberations on next year's minimum wage. The commission must reach a conclusion by June 29, but due to sharp conflicts between management and labor sectors, the deadline has rarely been met so far.

Self-employed business owners are also showing great interest in the decision-making process of the Minimum Wage Commission. They focused especially on the most contentious issue in the commission: the rate of increase. They argue that since the minimum wage rose significantly this year, it should be frozen next year. This year's minimum wage is 9,160 won, a 5.0% increase compared to the previous year.

Min Sang-heon, co-representative of the Korea Federation of Self-Employed Business Owners Affected by COVID-19, said, “There are already many self-employed business owners who cannot even earn the minimum wage,” adding, “Self-employed people have been pushed to the brink due to COVID-19, and if the wage is increased again, they will have no means to endure further.”

Self-employed business owners are also demanding differentiated minimum wages by industry. They argue that the content promised by President-elect Yoon should be reflected in this Minimum Wage Commission. During the presidential election, Yoon emphasized labor flexibility and stressed the application of differentiated minimum wages by industry and region, considering the payment conditions of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Self-employed business owners claim that there is also a legal basis for differentiated application by industry. According to Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the Minimum Wage Act, minimum wages can be set by type of business. However, the labor sector opposes differentiated application of the minimum wage, citing ambiguity in the criteria for industry classification and discrimination in the labor market. A representative of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) said, “Differentiated application by industry has already been shown to have no practical effect,” adding, “We will focus on raising the minimum wage as much as possible.”

Since COVID-19, as livelihoods have become difficult, the political and social voices of self-employed business owners have been rising. According to the Small and Medium Business Research Institute, as of 2020, the debt of self-employed business owners increased by 29.6% compared to the previous year, reaching 887.5 trillion won. In particular, the debt was concentrated in small-scale industries and sectors hit by COVID-19 due to social distancing measures.

If the minimum wage is not set according to the wishes of self-employed business owners in the future, they also expressed their willingness to fight. Since self-employed business owners showed active support for President-elect Yoon during the presidential election, they argue that promises must be kept. Co-representative Min said, “If there is any sign of a minimum wage increase, we will immediately hold rallies and protests to pressure the transition committee.”