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Thu, October 19, 2017 | 14:28

National > Labor & environment >

Small businesses may fail to pay new minimum wage

Fear is growing that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may fail to pay workers on time due to the “sharp increase” of the newly set hourly minimum wage of 7,530 won ($6.64). Such enterprises have claimed job cuts are inevitable to reduce uncontrollable labor costs following what they deem a “too excessive” 16.4 percent increase from this year’ s 6,470 won. According to data by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, as of last year, out of about 19.6 million salaried workers, 2.66 million, or 13.6 percent, were paid less than the minimum wage. The portion has been on a steady rise, co...

Labor & environment | 2017-07-19 16:58

S. Korea to build 'Eden Garden'

Completed in 2001, the Eden Project houses huge biomes that boast an enormous collection of endangered plants from around the world. "(The KNA) and the Eden Project signed a business accord in St Austell Tuesday on the creation of the Korean garden in the famous British garden, and agreed to cooperate in preserving and restoring plant diversity down the road," a KNA official ...

Labor & environment | 2017-07-19 14:26

Wage costs for migrant workers to rise by W1.1 trillion

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will likely spend an additional 1.1 trillion won on labor costs for foreign workers due to last week’s minimum wage hike. A panel of labor, management and government representatives on Saturday settled next year’s minimum wage at 7,530 won ($6.7), a 16.4 percent jump from 6,470 won this year. Including wage hikes for foreign workers,...

Labor & environment | 2017-07-18 17:03

[INTERVIEW] 'Blind hiring can be seed of hope,' says vice presidential spokesperson

Korea, which is home to many international companies, has long been criticized for hiring practices that fall far below international standards. However, the government is finally taking a major step to change the country’s highly intrusive and discriminative recruitment practices. Early this month, it announced that it will implement “blind hiring” for all public jobs by Sep...

Labor & environment | 2017-07-18 14:31

Good and bad sides of minimum wage raise

Han Ji-young, a 22-year-old college student, began working last year at a cafe in Geumcheon-gu, southwestern Seoul. Like many other college students with part-time jobs, she believes the recent minimum wage increase will help her better meet her living expenses. “I’m optimistic about the change, especially as it will help lessen the burden on my parents,” she said. But Han be...

Labor & environment | 2017-07-17 17:00

[EXCLUSIVE] US Embassy, UNHCR exploit interns

A student in her 20s, who requested to be identified by the alias Kim Hye-jin, recalled the distress she felt as an intern for the U.S. Embassy in Seoul in 2015, during which she received neither a salary nor even a stipend for transportation and lunch. “I had to take an additional part-time job after finishing work at the embassy at 5:30 p.m. I barely had any time for myself...

Labor & environment | 2017-07-17 16:22

4 dead, 2 missing in flash floods

Heavy rain in Chungcheong and Gangwon provinces on the weekend has left four people dead, two missing and 500 displaced as of Monday morning. Water swept away two people aged over 70 while they were crossing a bridge in a village in Goesan in North Chungcheong Province on Sunday. Their bodies were found on Monday. Two more people died when the minivan in which they were trave...

Labor & environment | 2017-07-17 16:05

22-year record rainfall hits southern Korea

22-year record rainfall hits southern Korea

Households were evacuated and more than 500 rescue reports were filed following record heavy rainfall in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Sunday. Local authorities confirmed two deaths, 58 and 80, both women caught in a landslide in the city. One more was reported missing at the time of reporting. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), the city had 2...

Labor & environment | 2017-07-16 18:17

4 dead, 2 missing in flash floods

Minimum wage jumps to 7,530 won

The minimum hourly wage jumped 16.4 percent from the previous year to 7,530 won ($6.64) for 2018 in a settlement by a panel representing the government, labor and management, Saturday. The biggest increase in 17 years gave the Moon Jae-in administration new impetus toward its goal of raising the minimum wage to 10,000 won by 2020, but drew strong protest from employers, espec...

Labor & environment | 2017-07-16 16:57

Nominee's withdrawal hits Moon's labor policy

The withdrawal of Labor Minister nominee Cho Dae-yop on Thursday is drawing concerns over the setback of key labor polices under the Moon Jae-in administration. Moon vowed to create over 800,000 new jobs in the public sector to tackle high youth unemployment. He also pledged to turn 300,000 irregular working positions into regular ones to improve poor working conditions, which looms as another massive task in the labor sector. Cho, who is burdened with a shady past including drunk driving, had been fiercely attacked by the opposition parties amid a political impasse which lasted through Frid...

Labor & environment | 2017-07-14 16:52

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Lunch with Navy sailors