Gov't introduces revised minimum wage-setting system

노동부, 최저임금 결정체계 개편 초안 발표The South Korean government introduced a new minimum wage-setting system.It's looked to help improve fairness so that all related parties in the labor market can accommodate the changes... starting with the hike set for 2020.Kim Ji-yeon has our top story. The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that the Minimum Wage Commission, designated to determine wage increases, is to be divided into two sub-bodies.A committee of nine experts will set the range for the new minimum wage rates. Among the 15 candidates recommended for the panel... five each are supported by labor, management and government.A separate committee made up of representatives of companies, non-regular workers, public interest commissioners and small businesses will make the final decision.Its members will be reduced to 15 or 21 members in total. The new system reflects the recommendations made by the Committee's task force of 18 experts, which has been active for four months leading up to December.It also has taken into account global standards set by the International Labour Organization."The new system will be more reasonable in that the rates will be determined using experts' opinions which are based on objective figures. The decision-making process will be more rational than the previous process... which was a tug-of-war between labor and management."Up until now, there were a total of 27 members, and nine of them were Public Interest Commissioners, nominated by the Labor Minister and appointed by the president. However, there was criticism that these Commissioners who usually had the casting vote in determining the wage rate... followed the government's views on the minimum wage increases.In the new system, the government won't have as much leverage to nominate or recommend Public Interest Commissioners. For ten days starting January 21st... the government will gather public opinion on the new system through online channels ... and experts will conduct debates on reforming the new minimum wage-setting system.Adjusting the pace of the minimum wage hikes has been cited in business circles... particularly among small-and-medium-sized companies and the services sector... as the main reason why employers have been reluctant to hire more people.In line with its people-centered growth policies that entail raising incomes, the Moon Jae-in administration hiked this year's minimum wage by 10-point-9-percent from the previous year to seven-U.S.-dollars and 50-cents, following a drastic 16-point-four-percent hike from 2017.Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.