Debate to continue at 5th plenary session Thursday; labor calls it '40-year neglect,' business says contract workers are self-employed

The Korea Designated Driver Labor Union [Newsis]
The Korea Designated Driver Labor Union [Newsis]

The Korea Designated Driver Labor Union urged the Minimum Wage Commission on Wednesday to promptly decide whether to extend minimum wage coverage to workers in special-employment and platform arrangements.

In a statement released Wednesday, the union said the commission "is once again delaying discussions on applying the minimum wage to special-employment and platform workers" and called on it to "stop evading responsibility and immediately decide to apply the minimum wage to contract workers."

The union cited findings from a research project commissioned by the Ministry of Employment and Labor as evidence that extending minimum wage coverage to contract workers is legally and practically feasible.

"It has been confirmed that the minimum wage can be applied to contract workers — including designated drivers, delivery riders, tutoring teachers, and home-visit workers in home appliances and telecommunications — and that specific calculation methods can be developed," the union said, adding that employer representatives on the commission "continue to object without any objective basis or alternative proposals."

The union directed its criticism particularly at the commission's public-interest members, saying Article 5, Paragraph 3 of the Minimum Wage Act already provides a legal basis for applying the minimum wage to contract workers. "With the government's review request submitted and research results in hand, there is no reason to drag this out any further," it said.

The dispute came to a head at the commission's 4th plenary session, held Tuesday at the Government Sejong Building, where labor and management representatives clashed directly over the issue.

Ryu Ki-jung, executive managing director of the Korea Employers Federation and an employer representative on the commission, said workers in special-employment arrangements "are individual business operators, like the self-employed, except for the small number whose employee status has been recognized by a court." He said setting a minimum wage for people not confirmed to be employees "is neither within the authority nor the role of the Minimum Wage Commission."

Yang Ok-seok, head of the human resources policy division at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, also opposed the move, saying no country in the world treats contract arrangements under a minimum wage regime.

Labor representatives pushed back, arguing that applying the minimum wage would address the problems of low wages and uncompensated work time.

Ryu Ki-seop, secretary-general of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, said guaranteeing fair unit rates and a minimum wage would improve productivity by raising skill levels, strengthening safety and reducing turnover.

Lee Mi-seon, vice chairwoman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said many workers in special-employment arrangements "receive no compensation whatsoever for waiting time, travel time, or time lost to customer cancellations," and urged the commission to act.

The two sides continued their dispute in a closed session over the objectivity and applicability of the Ministry of Employment and Labor's research findings, but were unable to narrow their differences over whether special-employment and platform workers qualify as employees under the Minimum Wage Act.

The commission is set to take up the issue again at its 5th plenary session on Thursday. Labor is pressing for a definitive ruling on whether the law applies, while management opposes the discussion altogether, making the public-interest members' judgment the pivotal factor. Within labor circles, there is growing speculation that a vote may be called — on whether to apply the minimum wage or whether further deliberation is needed — as the public-interest members have little room left to defer a decision.


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