President Lee: “Isn’t it time to make decent wages the norm in the public sector?”

[Financial News] On the 22nd, President Lee Jae Myung raised the need to make decent wages the norm in the public sector and checked on progress in reviewing the fair-pay allowance, which he had previously instructed the Ministry of Employment and Labor to examine.
In a written briefing, Cheong Wa Dae Senior Spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung said President Lee raised the question of whether it was time to make decent wages, rather than the minimum wage, the norm across the public sector during closed-door discussions at that day’s 50th Senior Presidential Aides Meeting.
Further discussions were held at the closed-door meeting that day on the “three key social policies”: the National Jobs Project, finance for ordinary people, and guaranteeing the public’s right to housing.
President Lee stressed that expanding productive public-sector jobs was a basic direction of government policy and that exchanging views and collaborating with local governments was necessary. He also called for the development of various programs to expand job opportunities for older adults.
On how policies should be implemented, he said a careful, differentiated approach was needed depending on the target group, timing and circumstances. The point was that rather than applying a single policy to everyone, officials should consider who should receive what and how. He stressed the importance of flagship policies that people can experience directly and also urged that policies be simple, swift and bold.
Regarding finance for ordinary people, he stressed the need to prepare proactively for rising loan interest rates and said the government must be their last line of support.

[email protected] Seong Seok-woo Reporter