[THE INVESTOR] The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on Aug. 5 that it has finalized the minimum wage for next year at 6,470 won (US$5.83) per hour, up 7.3 percent from 2016.
Calculated on a standard of eight working hours a day, the daily minimum wage rate is 51,760 won and on a 40-hour-a-week basis (including one paid day off), 209 working hours a month, the monthly rate comes to 1,352,230 won, the announcement added, further clarifying the rights and duty for employees and employers.
This continues Park Geun-hye administration’s initiative to raise the minimum standard: 7.2 percent in 2014, 7.1 percent in 2015 and 8.1 percent in 2016.
The increase rate is almost double that of comparable workers (3.7 percent) reflecting the government’s will to lessen the gap in labor market despite the economic hardships, the ministry explained.
The act would affect about 3.37 million workers, 17.4 percent of the entire work force, the government estimates. To better enforce the minimum wage, it will “closely monitor the employment conditions while actively support employment and supervise the sites,” said Jeong Ji-won, a labor standards policy department official.
By Hwang You-mee (
glamazon@heraldcorp.com)
