Labor calls for 11,900 won; business offers 10,360 won; gap narrows but deal eludes

Minimum Wage Commission to hold 11th plenary session Thursday; final decision due by mid-July

Ryu Ki-jung, executive director of the Korea Employers Federation and an employer representative on the Minimum Wage Commission, left, and Ryu Ki-seop, secretary-general of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and a worker representative, listen to remarks at the commission's 10th plenary session held Monday at the Government Sejong Complex. Deliberations on next year's minimum wage again missed the statutory deadline due to the wide gap between labor and management. [Yonhap]
Ryu Ki-jung, executive director of the Korea Employers Federation and an employer representative on the Minimum Wage Commission, left, and Ryu Ki-seop, secretary-general of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and a worker representative, listen to remarks at the commission's 10th plenary session held Monday at the Government Sejong Complex. Deliberations on next year's minimum wage again missed the statutory deadline due to the wide gap between labor and management. [Yonhap]

Negotiations over next year's minimum wage have reached a second round of revised proposals without producing an agreement.

Labor representatives are calling for 11,900 won ($8) per hour while management is offering 10,360 won. The gap has narrowed from an initial 1,680 won to 1,540 won, but with more than 1,500 won still separating the two sides, further compromise appears unavoidable.

According to the Minimum Wage Commission, labor and management submitted their second revised proposals Monday during a closed session of the 10th plenary meeting held at the Government Sejong Complex. Labor proposed 11,900 won — a 15.3 percent increase over this year's rate — while management offered 10,360 won, a 0.4 percent rise.

The two sides opened with an initial labor demand of 12,000 won, representing a 16.3 percent increase, against a management position of 10,320 won, effectively a freeze. In their first revised proposals, labor came down to 11,970 won and management moved up to 10,340 won, trimming the gap by 50 won from 1,680 won to 1,630 won.

In the second round, labor lowered its figure by 100 won from its opening position while management raised its offer by 40 won, bringing the gap down to 1,540 won.

The minimum wage is deliberated and decided by a 27-member commission comprising nine worker representatives, nine employer representatives and nine public-interest members. The process involves the two sides repeatedly submitting revised proposals to narrow their differences before public-interest members step in to mediate and help reach a final figure.

The 10th plenary session ended without a final agreement. The commission is set to hold its 11th plenary session at 3 p.m. Thursday at the Government Sejong Complex to continue negotiations.

The statutory deliberation deadline passed Sunday, but the Minimum Wage Commission must submit next year's proposed rate to the minister of employment and labor by mid-July to allow time for the remaining objection and official notification procedures. The minister will then issue the formal notice, with next year's minimum wage to be finalized on Aug. 5.


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