Minimum Wage Expansion Debate "Overseas Recognition vs. Difficulty in Uniform Determination of Worker Status"

[Financial News]  
The 3rd meeting of the Minimum Wage Commission, which deliberates next year's minimum wage, was held on the 29th, where labor and management engaged in heated debates over differentiated application by industry and expanded application to contract workers.
Ryu Gi-seop, Secretary-General of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, said, "The number of low-wage workers such as special employment, platform, and freelancers is up to about 8.62 million based on the National Tax Service's business income payment standard, and it is increasing every year, but they are not even receiving the minimum level of legal protection," adding, "Major overseas countries such as the United Kingdom, United States, France, Spain, and Germany recognize them as workers and apply labor laws, which is a leading measure reflecting the diversifying labor market such as the 4th industrial revolution."
There was also a point made by the labor community that the crisis of self-employed people is not due to the minimum wage. Lee Mi-seon, Vice Chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said, "In a survey by the Korea Economic Association, 9.1% of self-employed people cited the burden of labor costs including the minimum wage as their biggest management difficulty," adding, "The problem is not wages but the economy. Measures to stimulate consumption and strengthen the job stabilization fund system are needed, and raising the minimum wage for low-wage workers will soon revitalize domestic demand."
On the other hand, the business community opposed the labor community's claims and argued for differentiated application by industry. Ryu Gi-jeong, Executive Director of the Korea Employers Federation, pointed out regarding the expanded application of the minimum wage to contract workers, "The Minimum Wage Commission cannot uniformly determine the worker status of specific occupational workers, and it is practically impossible and inappropriate for the commission to decide on the necessity of setting a new minimum wage for each individual special type worker recognized as a worker by the court."
Ryu further emphasized, "Rather than these discussions, there should be in-depth discussions on reasonable differentiated application by industry that can reflect the significant differences in minimum wage acceptance between industries as specified in the request for deliberation by the Minister of Employment and Labor."
Meanwhile, Kwon Soon-won, a professor at Sookmyung Women's University and a public interest committee secretary, said, "This is the 7th year of deliberating the minimum wage, and before finishing my role as a public interest committee member, I really want to set the minimum wage level through labor-management agreement," adding, "I earnestly ask that this year, labor and management committee members agree on the minimum wage."
Meanwhile, worker committee members are expected to present data on the actual conditions of contract workers as the basis for expanding the application of the minimum wage in a closed meeting following their opening remarks.

aber@fnnews.com Park Ji-young Reporter