South Korea to raise minimum wage, but small business groups reject decision
Group representing small business owners called the increase a ‘unilateral decision’ and said it would impose a ‘moratorium’ on its implementation
South Korea on Saturday decided to raise the minimum wage by 10.9 per cent to 8,350 won (US$7.40) an hour next year but a small-business group said it would refuse to comply because its members were already grappling with a slowing economy.
South Korea’s labour-friendly President Moon Jae-in has pledged to raise the minimum wage by 55 per cent to 10,000 won per hour by 2020 as part of efforts to boost consumption and growth.
After a 19-hour-long meeting, the Minimum Wage Commission agreed on the increase, which was smaller than this year’s 16.4 per cent rise, amid worries about weak job growth.
South Korea added a monthly average of 142,000 jobs between January and June this year, the slowest growth seen since the 2008-09 global financial crisis, according to Statistics Korea.
A lobby group representing small business owners called the wage increase a “unilateral decision” and said it would impose a “moratorium” on its implementation.