The two trade union national centers of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions(FKTU) and Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU) confirmed the intention of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea(DPK) for the improvement of the minimum wage system within this year in a meeting with Rep. Woo Won-shik, DPK's floor leader on June 13. Both FKTU and KCTU put forward a condition for their participation in the minimum wage negotiations this year that the government and the legislature should express their intention to improve the minimum wage system beforehand.
It is likely, therefore, that all workers' members including representatives from FKTU and KCTU would participate in the regular meeting of the Minimum Wage Commission slated for on June 15. FKTU has already decided their participation, whereas KCTU will decide it on June 14.
Employers' members in the past have kept on urging the minimum wage freeze every year since 2010. President Moon Jae-in made an election pledge to raise the hourly minimum wage to 10,000 won by 2020 which requires an annual increase rate of 15.7% to meet his promise.
reported by Kim Bong-seok
translated by Kim Sung-jin