Can Korea afford a 12,000 won minimum wage?

AI핵심 요약

• ·Unions seek 16.3% hike as employers call for lower pay floors in restaurants, hotels, taxi services Members of South Korea’s two largest labor federations hold a press conference in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Monday to announce a proposal for the 2027 minimum wage.
• ·(Yonhap) South Korean labor and business groups clashed Tuesday as the state wage-setting panel opened talks on industry-specific pay floors, a contentious proposal backed by employers and fiercely opposed by unions.
• ·The talks came a day after labor groups proposed raising the 2027 minimum wage by 16.3 percent to 12,000 won ($7.93) an hour.
• ·The sixth plenary meeting of the Minimum Wage Commission in Sejong focused on differentiated rates, one of the most divisive issues in this year's negotiations.
• ·Labor representatives unveiled their initial proposal Monday, arguing that the current minimum wage of 10,320 won per hour fails to keep pace with rising living costs.