"Household Living Expenses vs. Single Unmarried Individuals"… Debate Over Minimum Wage Determination Criteria

On the afternoon of the 9th, at the 3rd plenary meeting held in the Minimum Wage Commission meeting room of the Government Complex Sejong in Sejong City, Ryu Ki-jung, Executive Director of the Korea Employers Federation (left), a user committee member, and Lee Dong-ho, Secretary General of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, a labor committee member, were seated.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The Minimum Wage Commission held its third plenary meeting on the 9th and officially began discussions on next year's minimum wage level.

Worker representatives argued at the meeting that the "household living expenses" should be the basis for determining the minimum wage, but employer representatives opposed this, saying it is unprecedented globally.

Lee Dong-ho, Secretary General of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), stated in his opening remarks, "The Minimum Wage Commission should not only consider the living expenses of single, unmarried individuals as the basis for decision-making but should also reflect the reality of households with multiple members and make worker household living expenses the core criterion."

He added, "Single, unmarried households account for only 9.8% of all households and about 3% of the population, so there are limitations in representing all wage workers with this statistic," emphasizing, "Please actively consider household living expenses as a key standard."

In response, the employer side immediately rebutted. Ryu Ki-jung, Executive Director of the Korea Employers Federation, said, "Among OECD countries, no nation explicitly determines the minimum wage based on household living expenses," adding, "Single, unmarried workers are the global standard and have been the basis for deliberations by our Minimum Wage Commission for the past 30 years."

He continued, "In order to give hope to small and micro enterprises and small business owners who have struggled through the pandemic during difficult economic conditions, stability in the minimum wage is necessary," emphasizing, "Especially, sector-specific application must be implemented to enhance the acceptability of the minimum wage."