eNewsletter

On April 8, 2011, South Korea’s Minimum Wage Council formally convened to discuss the minimum wage for 2012. There is considerable dissention among the Council’s 27 members.  The nine workers’ representatives, backed by the 28-member Minimum Wage Solidarity coalition, have demanded a 25% wage increase, from 4,320 won ($3.96 USD) per hour to 5,410 won ($4.96 USD) per hour.  Conversely, the nine employers’ representatives have insisted on a wage freeze, or a 3% wage increase at most. 

The remaining nine members, who act as public interest representatives, will likely play a decisive role in the Council’s final proposal to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which is due by June 29, 2011.  In 2010’s equally heated council, it was the public interest members who ultimately decided on a 5.1% minimum wage increase. During that time, the workers’ representatives had demanded a 26% increase in minimum wage while the employers’ pushed for a wage freeze.  Since 1988, South Korea’s minimum wage has been consistently increasing, albeit slowly each year. Therefore, it seems highly likely that it will rise again in 2012.  The final decision, however, will not be announced until August 5, 2011.