Minister Lee Young on Minimum Wage Speed Adjustment Theory: "Voices of Small Business Owners Must Be Included"

"High Inflation and Interest Rates Before COVID Recovery"
"Importance of Consensus on Delivery Price Linkage Between Large and Medium Enterprises"
"Loss Compensation Fund, Database of Issues Reported at Small Enterprise Support Center"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups (photo), on the 29th expressed a call for a speed adjustment regarding next year's minimum wage increase, saying, "I hope the adjustment plan reflects the voices from the (small business) field."

On the day of the legal deadline for minimum wage determination, Minister Lee met with reporters at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, and said, "The direction of progress is correct, but we need to consider the speed and intensity."

He explained the situation, saying, "A few years ago, when the minimum wage surged, people who collected parking fees in parking lots disappeared and were replaced by kiosks," and "Due to economic pressure caused by COVID-19, part-time workers disappeared, and business owners' families had to handle tasks themselves."

He added, "We are socially called to pay attention to the quality of employment regarding the 52-hour workweek and minimum wage, and the political circles and government must respond to this."

Minister Lee stated, "Small business owners are facing high inflation, high interest rates, and rising raw material costs even before having time to recover from COVID-19," and "There must be flexible measures suitable for the situation, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups shares this view."

Regarding criticism that there are blind spots in the payment of loss compensation funds to small business owners, he replied, "There has been no major policy change in the system so far," but added, "We are databasing issues occurring at about 70 complaint centers of the Small Enterprise and Market Service."

Furthermore, Minister Lee explained that the task force team within the Ministry of SMEs and Startups for introducing a delivery price linkage system recently held meetings with large corporations. He said, "At that meeting, we showed the basic draft of the bill prepared by the ministry," and "We are receiving additional opinions, and the related matters are currently being discussed between the ruling and opposition parties."

He continued, "It is important to find a consensus and mutual understanding between large and small-medium enterprises during the process of drafting and publicizing the bill," and "I hope the delivery price linkage system can realistically operate at a point when an agreement can be reached in the second half of this year." Since legislation takes time, efforts will be made to seek voluntary agreements between large and small-medium enterprises while simultaneously promoting related legislation on the linkage system.

Regarding recent calls for the introduction of a special electricity rate system for SMEs amid electricity price hikes, he said, "Because the previous administration pushed for nuclear phase-out excessively, the electricity price increase was predictable," and "We will closely consult with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy regarding industrial electricity and special electricity rates for SMEs."