<Anchor>



Next year's minimum wage has been set at 9,620 won per hour, or 2.01 million won per month.

The government explained that this year's growth rate was set at 5% by adding 4.5% of inflation to the projected growth rate of 2.7% and then subtracting 2.2% of employment growth.

The self-employed are strongly opposed to it, saying it is difficult to handle, and the labor community is also saying that it is difficult to accept it.



Reporter Jo Yoon-ha pointed it out.



<Reporter>



Junsu Shim, the owner of a convenience store, works from 7am to 8pm to 9pm for over 12 hours a day.



He has a hard time waiting for labor costs, so he runs on his own, but the news of the minimum wage increase made me worried.



[Shim Junsu/Convenience store owner: (Employees) After paying salaries, monthly rent, and rent, the only thing the store owners are left with is an hourly wage of only 6,000 or 7,000 won.

It is not for nothing that we are told that we should go to work elsewhere and pay the workers part-timers.] Last night, when the vote to raise the minimum wage for next year to 9,620



won began, business leaders abstained considering the plight of small business owners.



[Ryu Ki-jeong / Executive Director of Korea Employers Federation: Can small and medium-sized enterprises or small business owners get 5% because they have reached the limit?

.]



Labor reaction was mixed.



Four members of the KCTU refused to vote, saying that the 5% increase was not enough.



[Park Hee-eun / Vice-Chairman of the Korean Federation of Trade Unions: The proposal proposed by a public interest member is such a proposal that does not actually even reach the inflation rate…

.]



Conversely, five members of the Korean Federation of Trade Unions participated in the voting.



An official from the Korea Federation of Trade Unions said in a phone call with SBS, "Converted to a monthly salary, it was more than 2 million won, so I decided that I could persuade the workers, so I participated in the vote."



In the end, the vote was led by 9 members of the government's public interest, and the vote was passed with 12 out of 23 votes in favour.



At next year's meeting, the issue of differentiating by industry to apply a lower minimum wage to convenience stores and restaurants is expected to rise.



(Video coverage: Kim Min-cheol, video editing: Jo Moo-hwan, VJ: Jeong Young-sam)