Seoul Metropolitan Government to Raise Living Wage by 5.2% Next Year... Largest Increase Since 2019

[Financial News] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has set next year's living wage at 12,757 won per hour. This is an increase of 636 won (5.2%) from this year and is 2,057 won higher than the 2027 minimum wage. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 10th that it had set the 2027 living wage at 12,757 won per hour. Converted to a monthly salary, this amounts to 2,666,213 won based on a 40-hour workweek and 209 working hours per month.
Next year's living wage in Seoul is 19.2% higher than the 2027 minimum wage of 10,700 won announced by the government. The living wage increase rate rose significantly to 5.2% next year, up from 2.5% in 2024, 3.0% in 2025, and 2.9% in 2026. This is the largest increase since 2019, when the increase exceeded 10%.
The finalized living wage will apply for one year starting January 1 next year. The beneficiaries include approximately 14,000 people, including directly employed workers of the Seoul Metropolitan Government and its investment-funded institutions, workers at subsidiaries of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's investment institutions, workers at private-contracted institutions receiving 100% city funding, and participants in the Attractive Jobs program.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government finalized next year's living wage following deliberation by the Seoul Living Wage Committee on the 3rd, taking comprehensive account of household consumption expenditure burdens, inflation, and the city's fiscal conditions.
Park Kyung-hwan, Director General of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Livelihood and Labor Bureau, said, "We significantly increased next year's living wage from the previous year, taking into account the growing burden on workers' livelihoods caused by recent price increases," adding, "We will operate the system effectively so that the living wage can contribute to workers' actual livelihood stability and improved quality of life."
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