Cover Story, Minimum Wage

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­[Cover Story]

Minimum Wage

by Lee Hyeon-ju, Culture Reporter, twohj1218@mju.ac.kr

On January 1, 2019, a " Minimum Wage increase" was also featured in the economic front of major daily newspapers. Most of the articles have drawn up the results of surveys that have raised voices against the increase of minimum wage. The social conflict over the proposed minimum wage increase is seriously rising.

1. A Negative View of Minimum Wage Increase

As a result of the survey, Dong-A Ilbo reported that the first in the economic policy erred by President Moon Jae-in was the 'minimum wage increase'. Also, the Korean economy is more economical than redress. According to an article titled "We should postpone the minimum wage increase," a survey of 927 economic experts found that "delaying the minimum wage increase" is the most urgent task. The next day, Munhwa Ilbo said, "The percentage of people who think that the minimum wage increase is the cause of economic deterioration was revealed to be 32%." The government's economic score was cited as the biggest and most common cause of deterioration in the overall economy, including the worst employment situation last year and the crisis of self-employed.

2. a positive opinion of a minimum wage increase

"I recently read an article on the New Year's debate on JTBC News Room that said, 'The minimum wage has gone up so much that I've laid off the employees I've worked with for 30 years without tears.' I was so moved to tears. I've taken 30 years to work in one job. How can you give me the minimum wage for 30 years? I don't think this is the way we live in the world. "There will be a lot of difficulties for companies, but it will be difficult for companies to overcome." In another meeting, The interviewee also pointed out that the current economic crisis is a tainted report of the conservative ideological alliance. The conservative media is exaggerating that the minimum wage increase is a misguided policy.

3. Government Alternatives: New Minimum Wage Decision Structure

In the end, the stories of the minimum wage increaseers became popular. Accordingly, the government came up with an alternative plan to reduce the speed of the minimum wage increase.  It is to divide the minimum wage decision structure into twofold. The minimum wage decision structure will be split and a final decision will be made within the minimum wage increase set by experts. On January 7, the government released a draft of a minimum wage decision-making structure based on this content.

In response to this, Justice Party Chairman Lee Jung-mi strongly criticized the government's plan to reshuffle the minimum wage structure, saying that it is undermining the principle of the minimum wage decision, which is to be decided by labor and management, citing the need to adjust the minimum wage speed. Lee said the government's reform plan was an expert, but the government actually decided on the minimum wage, and the investigation party was supposed to be a bridesmaid in the process of determining the minimum wage.

The Republic of Korea also ratified the International Labor Organization (ILO) minimum wage agreement in 2000, in which representatives of labor and management recommended participation in the minimum wage system and decisions. If these new minimum wage measures become a reality, it will be clear that there will be a problem with the ILO.

4. an example of another country - a gap in reporting patterns on minimum wage increases

Let's take a look at the response to the foreign minimum wage increase. There is a female worker named Bravo who lives in Ontario, Canada. She works in four places as a day laborer. They are factory workers, cleaners, construction workers, and cafe employees with the lowest hourly wage. This is what Bravo said in an interview with a CBC reporter.

“I once thought I was not a human being. That was my reality. It was really hard to work part-time here and there in four different companies. I didn't have much time to rest. It would be great for me if the minimum hourly wage goes up to $15 (about 13,000 won). I am grateful that the government and the city government support me to live like a human being. I've taken another step, to a stable life like you. Someday I can get all sorts of employment benefits like you do. I feel like I'm now living in a more evolved society. Now I feel like you. But $15 an hour is not all I want. I believe my value is higher than this.”

Through Bravo's interview, we can see that the coverage of Canada's minimum wage increase is different from that of Korea. South Korea's report on the minimum wage increase does not include many voices of people who face direct minimum wage. In addition, unlike Korea, Canada's case is far greater than the voice of the economically vulnerable. People's thoughts and attitudes are different from those in Korea.

5. conclusion

President Moon Jae-in and his government led by income growth in economic policies of minimum wages as a basis, the keynote and serve as a solution. So far, we have looked at negative and positive opinions about the proposed minimum wage, the government's new supplementary measures against it, and examples of the minimum wage increase in other countries. This will allow us to reconsider Korea's proposal for a minimum wage increase in a broader perspective.

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