72% of Workers Support Expanding Minimum Wage to Gig and Freelance Workers (Image supported by ChatGPT)
SEOUL, June 16 (Korea Bizwire) — A growing number of South Korean workers believe the legal minimum wage should be extended to cover gig workers, freelancers, and those in special employment arrangements, reflecting mounting concern over the widening protections gap in the evolving labor market.
According to a survey released Sunday by the labor rights group Workplace Gapjil 119, 72.6 percent of salaried workers said the statutory minimum wage should apply to all types of workers, including platform laborers and freelancers. Only 27.4 percent opposed the idea.
The poll, conducted by Global Research from February 10 to 17, 2025, surveyed 1,000 employed adults across the country. Support for expanding minimum wage protections was strongest among irregular workers (80.3%), women (77%), non-union members (73.7%), manual workers (78%), and low-income earners making less than 1.5 million won ($1,100) per month (82.7%).
“Women in irregular positions expressed the highest support at 83 percent, reflecting the reality that many of them occupy low-wage or uncovered roles,” the organization noted.
Interest is growing in the introduction of a “delivery platform commission cap system,” a key pledge by President Lee Jae-myung aimed at promoting a fair economy. The photo shows delivery riders crossing an intersection near Gangnam Station in Seoul. (Photo courtesy of Yonhap)
South Korea’s non-wage workforce—those paid as individual business operators subject to a 3.3 percent business income tax rather than regular payroll withholding—has grown sharply. According to data from the National Tax Service submitted to Rep. Cha Gyu-geun of the Rebuilding Korea Party, the number of such workers reached 8.62 million in 2023, up from 6.69 million in 2019.
Despite repeated calls by labor groups to expand the legal coverage of the minimum wage under Article 5, Clause 3 of the Minimum Wage Act, efforts to apply it to contract-based and task-based workers were again rejected this year. Public interest committee members stated that current research is insufficient for policy change and urged the Ministry of Employment and Labor to conduct further studies for potential discussion in the 2026 deliberation.
Oh Hye-min, a certified labor attorney with Workplace Gapjil 119, argued the legal framework is outdated: “The current standard for applying the minimum wage—limited to formal employees—is based on a Supreme Court ruling from 20 years ago and fails to reflect today’s labor reality.”
She added, “The minimum wage is more than just a wage floor; it is a vital social safety net. All working individuals deserve a baseline income to ensure a life of dignity, and the law should evolve to guarantee that.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
