The gap between labor and management regarding next year's minimum wage has narrowed to 130 won.
The Minimum Wage Commission held its 14th plenary meeting on July 14 at the Government Sejong Center to discuss the minimum wage for the upcoming year. Both labor and management presented their 10th to 12th revised proposals during the meeting.
Following the public interest committee's presentation of the discussion facilitation range, discussions have gained momentum. Labor representatives proposed a minimum wage of 10,770 won, while management representatives suggested 10,640 won for next year. These figures represent increases of 4.4% and 3.1%, respectively, compared to this year's minimum wage of 10,320 won.
The gap in the 12th revised proposal is 130 won, a reduction from the previous differences of 290 won in the public interest committee's range and 200 won in the 11th revised proposal.
Earlier, the public interest committee set the discussion facilitation range for next year's minimum wage between 10,600 won and 10,860 won, indicating a potential increase of 2.7% to 5.25% from this year. The discussion facilitation range is established by the public interest committee to set upper and lower limits for negotiations and voting.
The lower limit is based on the projected consumer price inflation rate for this year. The Bank of Korea and the Korea Development Institute (KDI) projected a 2.7% inflation rate in May. The upper limit was determined by adding the inflation rate to the average growth rate projections from the Bank of Korea (2.6%) and KDI (2.5%).
With the public interest committee presenting the discussion facilitation range, discussions on next year's minimum wage are accelerating. According to the Minimum Wage Act, the Minister of Employment and Labor must finalize and announce the minimum wage based on the commission's proposal by August 5.
Considering the remaining administrative procedures, the commission is expected to conclude discussions on next year's minimum wage by mid-July, with a strong possibility of reaching a final agreement during the concluding negotiations held on that day.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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