Kwon Soon-won, chairman of the Minimum Wage Commission, attends the 12th plenary session at the Government Complex Sejong on Tuesday. As of the previous session, labor and management had submitted their fourth revised proposals — 11,700 won and 10,410 won per hour, respectively — leaving a gap of 1,290 won between the two sides. [Yonhap]
Kwon Soon-won, chairman of the Minimum Wage Commission, attends the 12th plenary session at the Government Complex Sejong on Tuesday. As of the previous session, labor and management had submitted their fourth revised proposals — 11,700 won and 10,410 won per hour, respectively — leaving a gap of 1,290 won between the two sides. [Yonhap]

Labor and management sat down again Tuesday to negotiate next year's minimum wage, with public-interest commissioners saying they would wait until the very last moment for the two sides to reach a voluntary agreement.

The Minimum Wage Commission held its 12th plenary session at the Government Complex Sejong on Tuesday, resuming deliberations on the minimum wage level to take effect in 2027. Through 11 previous sessions, both sides had submitted four rounds of revised proposals without closing the gap — labor is holding at 11,700 won ($8) per hour while management is offering 10,410 won, leaving a difference of 1,290 won.

Commission Chairman Kwon Soon-won said both sides were again scheduled to submit revised proposals Tuesday. "The public-interest commissioners plan to wait, and keep waiting, until the very last moment for the gap between labor and management to narrow," he said, urging both parties to "cooperate so that a swift and productive approach can move forward smoothly."

Earlier, a media outlet reported that the commission was reviewing a plan to recommend government reforms — including the application of the minimum wage to piece-rate workers — and that a draft had been prepared calling for the Ministry of Employment and Labor to establish a system-improvement task force in the second half of the year.

Kwon made clear Tuesday, however, that no such recommendation letter had been finalized by the commission.

On the reported recommendation letter on minimum wage system improvements, Kwon said "neither the content nor the format has been finalized," adding that labor, management and public-interest commissioners were discussing the matter together and that the approach and substance would be decided based on the outcome of those discussions.

Ryu Ki-jung (left), executive managing director of the Korea Employers Federation and a management-side commissioner, and Ryu Ki-seop, secretary-general of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and a labor-side commissioner, listen with stern expressions during the 12th plenary session of the Minimum Wage Commission at the Government Complex Sejong on Tuesday. [Yonhap]
Ryu Ki-jung (left), executive managing director of the Korea Employers Federation and a management-side commissioner, and Ryu Ki-seop, secretary-general of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and a labor-side commissioner, listen with stern expressions during the 12th plenary session of the Minimum Wage Commission at the Government Complex Sejong on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

Both sides showed no sign of budging from their established positions Tuesday.

Management argued that a sharp minimum wage increase would deepen financial difficulties for small businesses.

Ryu Ki-jung, executive managing director of the Korea Employers Federation, said the minimum wage had risen 79.7 percent over the past decade while consumer prices climbed only 22.9 percent. "The shock of the steep increases in 2018 and 2019 is still being felt on the ground," he said.

He added that producer prices rose an average of 4.8 percent from January through May this year — roughly double the rate of consumer price inflation. "Small and medium-sized enterprises and self-employed business owners who cannot pass rising costs on to prices are already at their limit," he said. "If the minimum wage is raised on top of this, it will ultimately lead to business closures and job cuts."

Yang Ok-seok, head of the workforce policy division at the Korea Federation of SMEs, said the commission should not be rushed into setting an unmanageable wage level simply because the statutory deliberation deadline had passed. "The number of businesses that operated for five or more years before closing reached 317,000 — the highest in 20 years — and restaurant closures also hit a record high," he said.

He added that minimum wage increases could trigger structural damage across industries beyond higher labor costs, including job losses, the proliferation of split-shift arrangements and the departure of skilled workers.

Labor pushed back, arguing that low-wage workers had seen no improvement in their lives despite strong exports and that raising the minimum wage was the starting point for a domestic demand recovery.

Ryu Ki-seop, secretary-general of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, said monthly exports had surpassed $100 billion on the back of a semiconductor super cycle, but cautioned that an export-led recovery does not automatically translate into a domestic demand recovery. "A K-shaped imbalance is deepening — large semiconductor conglomerates are growing while the lower tier of the labor market is struggling further," he said.

He said the minimum wage "is not a simple wage adjustment but a critical matter that affects workers' livelihoods and the pace of domestic demand recovery," and called on the government to pursue complementary measures — including employment retention support and social insurance premium subsidies — for the minimum wage to serve as a catalyst for revitalizing domestic consumption.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions presented public-interest commissioners with a casebook compiled from winning entries of an essay contest titled "My Story Rewritten by the Minimum Wage," appealing on behalf of low-wage workers.

Lee Mi-seon, vice chairwoman of the confederation, said it was difficult to live without worrying about medical bills and child-rearing costs on a monthly minimum wage of around 2 million won ($1,303). "The minimum wage should not be a level that merely gets you through the day — it should be breathing room that lets you plan and prepare for the month ahead," she said.

She added that "a raised minimum wage ultimately flows back into neighborhood commerce through workers' spending," and said a meaningful increase was needed to ensure a life of dignity.

The commission was set to continue negotiations Tuesday based on the additional revised proposals submitted by both sides.

If the gap fails to narrow sufficiently, public-interest commissioners may present a recommended deliberation range, potentially setting the stage for a final agreement or a vote.

Seong Jae-min, a researcher at the Korea Labor Institute and secretary of the public-interest commissioners, said it was important to weigh the legally mandated criteria for setting the minimum wage in a balanced way, without leaning too heavily on any single standard or factor. "The time has come to translate the progress of our discussions into concrete figures," he said.


fact0514@heraldcorp.com