The revised bill on the Minimum Wage has passed the National Assembly plenary session on May 28.

The National Assembly finally received the general election, but the labor unions strongly rebelled and the controversy surrounding the scope of the minimum wage has been expanded to social conflicts once the minimum wage committee failed to establish the minimum wage. The labor union is likely to demand a major increase in the minimum wage next year in the next month`s minimum wage debate. Although the revision of the Minimum Wage Act has been made, it is the reason for the evaluation that it has intensified the conflict with the measures that cover the problems rather than the social consensus.

Meanwhile, the business community welcomed the urgent need to deal with the amendment to minimize the aftereffects of the minimum wage, which has soared dramatically this year.

Meanwhile, the labor system is rebelling that the amendment bill of the Minimum Wage Act has been revised in favor of employers. Unlike the claims of the government and the National Assembly, we worry that the wages of lower income earners will be significantly lowered.

The reasons for the opposition to the revision of the labor system are that the minimum wage inclusion includes bonuses, welfare benefits such as food, lodging, and transportation, and the process of setting bonus and welfare benefits included in the minimum wage is not clear.

The amendment stipulates that if the bonus exceeds 25% of the minimum wage per month in that year, the excess will be included in the minimum wage. In case of welfare benefits such as meals, accommodation, and transportation expenses, the excess is included in the minimum wage when it exceeds 7% of the monthly minimum wage in the relevant year.

In the case of the monthly bonus exceeds KRW 393,000 or the welfare benefit exceeds KRW 110,000 per month as of the minimum wage (KRW 1.57 million) this year, the excess will be included in the minimum wage. The Korean government and the National Assembly argue that low-income workers with an annual income of less than KRW 24 million are not included in the scope of minimum wage increases.

However, the labor union argues that low-income workers are bound to expand. The lack of rationale for the criteria of `more than 25%` and `more than 7%` is also fueling the complaints of the labor union. This standard was prepared at the Parliamentary Environment and Labor Commission`s Employment Affairs presidency, which was held from the night of December 24 to the early morning of the 25th. However, this criterion was not formally discussed at the so-called meeting. It is the claim of the labor community that lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties and officials of the government prepared the "without any statistics or evidence" during the so-called meeting.

As a result, the minimum wage committee was hit by a direct charge. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions declared the resignation of the minimum wage committee shortly after the amendment was approved. The minimum wage shall be finalized and finalized for the next year`s minimum wage by the 28th of the following month. However, the Korean Federation of Trade Unions (FKTU), which is relatively more moderate than the KCTU, declared its absence from the minimum wage. Even if the Korean Federation of Trade Unions (FKTU) rejoins the minimum wage, labor and management are inevitably hit for the minimum wage increase.

On the other hand, Chairman Kim Myung-hwan of the KCTU stated, "The Moon Jae-in government and the ruling party are responsible for the depletion of the minimum wage, I am determined to go to the government struggle to ask.”

By Lee Heo Seung yos547@


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