Incheon Metropolitan City Government Sets Next Year’s Living Wage at 12,630 Won, Up 5.1% from This Year

【Financial News Incheon = Reporter Gap-su Han】 Incheon Metropolitan City Government has set next year’s living wage at 12,630 won per hour, a 5.1% increase from this year. The rate is 18% higher than the government-set minimum wage and focuses on stabilizing the livelihoods of low-wage workers and improving their quality of life in real terms.
Incheon Metropolitan City Government announced on the 10th that it had finalized the 2027 living wage at 12,630 won per hour following deliberations by the Living Wage Committee on the 27th of last month. The new living wage will take effect on January 1 next year.
This is an increase of 620 won, or 5.1%, from this year’s living wage of 12,010 won. Compared with the government-announced 2027 minimum wage of 10,700 won, it is 1,930 won per hour higher, or 18% above that level.
The living wage applies to workers employed by Incheon Metropolitan City Government, workers at city-affiliated public corporations and agencies, workers at institutions funded or supported by the city, and workers employed by organizations entrusted with city administrative work who directly perform duties for the city.
The city enacted its living wage ordinance in November 2015 and began applying the living wage in 2017. In 2019, it expanded eligibility to workers at affiliated public corporations and agencies, as well as institutions funded or supported by the city. Since 2022, the policy has also covered workers at organizations entrusted with city administrative work.
Labor organizations, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), and management organizations, including the Incheon Employers Federation and the Incheon Federation of Small Business Owners, participated in the decision-making process.
The Living Wage Committee determined the increase after comprehensively reviewing the city’s fiscal conditions, the purpose of the living wage system, the level of the minimum wage, wage conditions for comparable workers, and the recent inflation rate.
Kim Joon-sung, the city’s director of the Economy Bureau, said, "We hope this decision will further improve workers’ quality of life and, ultimately, serve as a catalyst for revitalizing the local economy."
[email protected] Gap-su Han Reporter