SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Platform and special employment workers in South Korea, long excluded from basic labor protections, earn far below the legal minimum wage and face chronic job insecurity, according to a new government-backed study that is fueling calls for urgent reform. A report by the Korea Labor Institute estimated that about [...]
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 [...]
SEOUL, March 24 (Korea Bizwire) — The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced it will participate in a government-led pilot program allowing foreign domestic workers to be hired without the application of South Korea’s minimum wage law, sparking controversy over potential labor rights concerns. The initiative, jointly managed by Seoul City and the Ministry of Justice, aims [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – The minimum wage for next year was set at 10,030 won (US$7.30) per hour Friday, marking the first time the compulsory hourly minimum wage has surpassed the 10,000 won level. The rate reached during the 11th plenary meeting of the Minimum Wage Commission marks an increase of 170 won, [...]
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 [...]
SEOUL, May 21 (Korea Bizwire) — The tripartite commission of labor, management and the public launched the process Tuesday to determine next year’s minimum wage, with the nation focused on whether it will exceed 10,000 won (US$7.35) per hour for the first time. The 27-member Minimum Wage Commission, with nine representatives from each of the [...]
SEOUL, May 14 (Korea Bizwire) – While official statistics appear to show South Korea’s minimum wage closing in on the average for developed economies, experts argue this effect is an illusion stemming from how the country calculates average wages compared to international standards. According to a report on minimum wage trends and global comparisons released on [...]
SEJONG, July 19 (Korea Bizwire) — Next year’s hourly minimum wage was set at 9,860 won (US$7.80) Wednesday, an increase of 2.5 percent from this year. The Minimum Wage Commission, composed of 27 members, nine each representing public interest, business and labor, reached the decision in a meeting that started Tuesday and continued through early [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — Platform workers and cab drivers earned less than the minimum hourly wage last year, a labor group said Monday. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions conducted a survey of 600 platform laborers which showed that their monthly income jumped from 2,995,000 won (US$2,305) when social distancing measures were still [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — More than 1 in 10 individuals working at businesses with fewer than five employees are paid less than the minimum wage, a poll showed Monday. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions conducted a survey of 470 people working at small businesses with fewer than five employees, which showed that [...]