Lee Chang-yong, a candidate for governor of the Bank of Korea, said today (19th), "If the minimum wage had been raised really gradually (under the current government), I think the minimum wage could have been raised more during this period (the period of President Moon Jae-in). The problem was that at first, the increase was too high and burdened the self-employed, so as a side effect, the perception of the minimum wage worsened.”
During a personnel hearing at the National Assembly Planning and Finance Committee today, Rep. Kim Young-jin (along with the Democratic Party) said, "The power of the people has been talking a lot about the minimum wage increase, but the minimum wage increase rate (7.2%) during the five years of the Moon Jae-in administration was lower than the Park Geun-hye administration (7.4%). %)," he answered when asked about his opinion.
He said, "What I raised the problem with at the time in 2018 was that the speed of (the minimum wage increase) was too fast, and there were many unintended side effects. It is a result of the past few years that it can cause multiple side effects if it is too fast.”
Regarding the relationship between the minimum wage and employment, he said, "Various studies have been conducted in academia on how the minimum wage level itself affects employment, but it is a problem that has not been concluded in a uniform way."
(Photo = National Assembly Photo Reporters, Yonhap News)