Labor representatives are pushing to extend minimum pay protections to gig workers and freelancers. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEJONG, May 22 (Korea Bizwire) – As South Korea’s minimum wage council begins deliberations this year to set the wage floor for 2025, labor representatives are pushing to extend minimum pay protections to gig workers and freelancers, a move that could upend compensation practices across a widening swath of the economy.
At the first plenary meeting of the Minimum Wage Council on May 21, worker representatives called for including delivery riders, platform workers and freelancers under minimum wage rules, according to council members from labor groups, business associations and the government who were present.
“The minimum wage system should function as a minimum safety net to guarantee decent pay for platform workers, freelancers and other irregular workers who fall through the cracks,” said Ryu Ki-seop, secretary general of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, which is represented on the council.
“The minimum wage should become a universal social safety net for the nation.”
Gig workers like delivery riders, parcel couriers and insurance planners are typically classified as independent contractors rather than formal employees. As a result, they have largely been excluded from minimum wage protections under South Korea’s labor laws.
To address this blind spot, labor advocates are now demanding that this year’s deliberations establish minimum pay standards that would apply to such irregular workers in addition to traditional employees.
Under South Korea’s minimum wage law, the president has authority to set separate minimum wage rules for workers paid on a non-hourly basis, such as by piecework rates or commissions.
Enforcement rules currently stipulate that for such compensation systems, minimum pay levels can be based on workers’ output or performance over a set period.
Labor representatives want the council to use this provision to devise tailored minimum pay formulas for gig workers and freelancers that account for their particular operating costs and work arrangements.
For instance, delivery workers could have minimums tied to a fee schedule like the country’s safe trucker pay system, while webcomic artists might have a minimum rate per page of work.
“These irregular workers emerged as the industrial and employment landscape became more complex,” said Park Jeong-hoon, a public services union official who sits on the labor side of the wage council.
“Given the serious level of exploitation they face, we need to discuss guaranteeing them decent wages as a society.”
However, there were divisions at the meeting over whether the council’s mandate extends to such proposals, which have not been formally deliberated in past wage negotiations.
Under the minimum wage law, the Minister of Employment and Labor requests that the council consider only the level of the standard minimum wage, whether to have industry-specific minimums and the scope of coverage.
One participant said the council agreed to debate the admissibility of the labor proposals at its next plenary session.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
