Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises: "We Welcome the Minimum Wage Act Amendment... Business Owners' Payment Capacity Must Be Considered"

Proposed by Kim Sohee of the People Power Party

The small business community has expressed its support for the amendment to the Minimum Wage Act, which requires the minimum wage decision process to reflect the payment capacity of business owners, among other factors.

On the 14th, the 14th plenary session began at the Minimum Wage Commission in the Sejong Government Complex. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 16th, the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises stated in an official commentary, "The amendment to the Minimum Wage Act, sponsored by Assemblywoman Kim Sohee of the People Power Party, is a timely bill that reflects the desperate reality faced by small business owners who are on the brink of bankruptcy."

Assemblywoman Kim introduced an amendment on the 15th, focusing on reflecting business owners' payment capacity in the minimum wage decision process, introducing differentiated applications based on business size and region, and mandating a prior review of whether differentiation is appropriate and valid.

The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises pointed out, "Including weekly holiday allowances, the effective hourly wage is KRW 12,840, and for the first time, the monthly wage has surpassed KRW 2.23 million (KRW 2,236,300). For a small business owner employing four people, the burden of the four major insurance payments means they must shoulder an additional cost of over KRW 10 million per year, which inevitably leads to reduced hiring and a wave of closures."

The federation also noted that out of a total of 970,000 business closures last year, 750,000 were in the core sectors for small businesses (retail, food, and lodging), and the closure rates for retail (15.4%) and food service businesses (15.14%) reached record highs.

The federation emphasized, "For more than 40 years, the National Assembly has left the obsolete minimum wage system untouched. Now, they must set aside partisan interests and process Assemblywoman Kim Sohee's proposal in a swift, bipartisan manner. We must seize this opportunity to create a turning point, through broad discussions on implementing a biennial minimum wage system and strengthening representation of small business owners on the Minimum Wage Commission."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.