Unable to Reach Conclusion on Minimum Wage in Early Morning Meeting... '10,340 Won vs 9,260 Won'

Labor Sector 10,340 Won vs Management Sector 9,260 Won

On the afternoon of the 28th, at the 7th plenary meeting held in the Minimum Wage Commission meeting room at 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.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Labor and management continued discussions until dawn over next year's minimum wage but failed to reach a conclusion. Both sides plan to resume the plenary session on the 29th, the final day of the legal deadline, to continue deliberations.

According to the Minimum Wage Commission (MWC) on that day, labor and management held the 7th plenary session at 3 p.m. the previous day at the Government Complex Sejong to continue deliberations on next year's minimum wage. As negotiations struggled to find common ground, the meeting extended past midnight on the 29th, resulting in a change of session, and it was ultimately decided to resume the plenary session at 3 p.m. that day to continue deliberations.

During the meeting, both labor and management submitted revised proposals to their initial minimum wage demands.

The worker representatives submitted a revised proposal of 10,340 KRW per hour, which is 550 KRW lower than their initial demand of 10,890 KRW per hour. This amount is 12.9% higher than this year's minimum wage of 9,160 KRW.

The employer representatives submitted a revised proposal of 9,260 KRW, up from their initial demand of 9,160 KRW. This represents a 1.1% increase, stepping back from their previous stance of freezing the wage.

Minimum wage deliberations proceed by narrowing the gap between the initial demands submitted by labor and management. Although the revised proposals have reduced the gap, there remains a difference of 1,080 KRW, indicating that discussions are unlikely to be easy.

The 8th plenary session was adjourned around 1:40 a.m. that day and will resume at 3 p.m. Labor and management are expected to submit second revised proposals during the resumed plenary session. If the gap remains large, public interest commissioners may suggest a facilitation range and request revised proposals within that range.

If the positions remain far apart despite the revised proposals, the public interest commissioners' proposal will be put to a vote to determine next year's minimum wage level. The MWC consists of 27 members: 9 worker representatives, 9 employer representatives, and 9 public interest commissioners. Due to significant differences between labor and management, the public interest commissioners typically hold the 'casting vote.'

Attention is focused on whether the MWC can reach a conclusion on the final day of the legal deliberation period. The last time the MWC met the legal deadline was in 2014. Chairman Park Joon-sik told reporters after the adjournment, "We will do our best in the resumed plenary session to meet the legal deadline."