"Earning 3 Million Won a Month Even from Part-Time Jobs"…A Country Claiming a Minimum Wage of 4.1 Million Won

Belgium to Raise Minimum Wage from Next Month
5th Highest Among EU Member States
Monthly Increase of 35.70 Euros Compared to Last Year

Belgium's minimum wage will increase to 2,029.88 euros per month (approximately 2.97 million KRW) starting from the 1st of next month.

According to Euronews on the 28th (local time), Belgium decided to raise the minimum wage by 35.70 euros per month compared to the previous year. Belgium's minimum wage ranks fifth highest among the 22 EU member states tracked by Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office. With Belgium's minimum wage increase, the number of EU member countries with a minimum wage exceeding 2,000 euros per month has risen to five, including Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Germany.

On the 15th of last month (local time), vehicles of defense ministers from various countries arrived at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Local labor organizations expect this wage increase to affect 80,000 low-income workers. Some political circles in Belgium have argued that the minimum wage should be raised to 2,800 euros per month (approximately 4.1 million KRW), citing high income tax rates and inflation. The Belgian government plans to implement a similar level of minimum wage increase in 2026 as well.

Recently, farmer protests against the EU's agricultural policies and soaring prices have occurred in Belgium. On the first day of the EU special summit last month on the 1st, farmers staged a strong protest by blocking major roads near the border with about 1,000 tractors. Belgium is the current EU presidency country. Additionally, posts appeared on social media reporting that the border highway near Antwerp, leading to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge?one of Europe's major logistics hubs?was blocked. Zeebrugge is Belgium's second-largest port after the Port of Antwerp. The farmer protests, which began in France, have spread to Belgium, Germany, Poland, Romania, Greece, and other countries. Protesters expressed dissatisfaction, stating that the EU's agricultural and environmental regulations are excessively strict and that their incomes have decreased due to an influx of cheap imported agricultural products caused by the Ukraine war.

South Korea's minimum wage this year is 9,860 KRW per hour, a 2.5% increase from last year. Converted to a monthly salary, this amounts to 2,060,740 KRW. South Korea's minimum wage is the highest in Asia. Japan's minimum wage varies by region, but the national average minimum wage exceeded 1,000 yen for the first time this year, standing at 1,004 yen. When South Korea's minimum wage is converted to yen, it is 1,080 yen, meaning Japan's minimum wage is lower than South Korea's. In the United States, minimum wages vary by state, and South Korea's minimum wage is higher than that of 20 out of the 50 states.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), countries with high absolute minimum wage levels include Luxembourg, Australia, France, Germany, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. As of 2021, Luxembourg's minimum wage was 13.4 USD per hour (17,058 KRW). Australia’s was 12.8 USD per hour (16,294 KRW), and France’s was about 12.6 USD per hour (16,040 KRW).