Many S. Koreans say minimum wage should be lowered or frozen

Jun 04, 2019, 09:13 am

By AsiaToday reporter Nam Ra-da

The Minimum Wage Council has to complete its deliberation to the set the minimum wage for next year by June 27. Then the government needs to announce next year’s minimum wage by August 5. Considering that there’s a 20-day objection period for both labor and management, the council needs to make a final decision by July 15. To this end, the council will hold a series of public hearings at the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Administration on Wednesday, the Gwangju Employment Center on June 10, and the Daegu Employment and Labor Administration on June 14.

More than half (56.4 percent) of South Koreans said the minimum wage should be either frozen (32.1 percent) or lowered (24.3 percent), according to a new survey. On the other hand, 42.6 percent of the respondents said the minimum wage should be raised. While 24.5 percent said the minimum wage should be raised within the range of inflation, 11.9 percent of respondents said the minimum wage should be raised by more than 10 percent and 6.2 percent said it should be raised to the minimum level.

“The public perception seems that the Moon administration’s approval ratings declined sharply due to the minimum wage controversy amid tough economic conditions,” said Kim Mi-hyun, director general of R&Search. “The government has raised the minimum wage by a double-digit figure for two consecutive years. Many think that a new minimum wage increase is impractical this year. While many people think the minimum wage should be either lowered or frozen, 42.6 percent of respondents say the government should increase the minimum wage. So there is a clash of views regarding the minimum wage,” she added.

According to the survey, 32.1 percent of South Koreans believe that the minimum wage should be frozen at 8,350 won per hour as this year. 24.5 percent of respondents said it should be raised within the range of inflation while 24.3 percent said it should be lowered since it has been raised for two consecutive years. 11.9 percent said the minimum wage should be raised by more than 10 percent while 6.2 percent of respondents said it should be raised at the minimum level.

“The national economy is not in a good shape ahead of the upcoming general elections next April as US-China trade tensions are intensifying,” Kim said. “The minimum wage issue is expected to bring a significant backlash from small business owners and workers.”

The survey by R&Search on behalf of AsiaToday, conducted during the first week of June among 1,009 adults nationwide, had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points and a 95 percent confidence level.

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