Labor side again lowers demand for hourly minimum wage hike for next year

Representatives of labor, management and the public discuss next year's minimum wage during the Minimum Wage Commission's 12th plenary meeting at Government Complex Sejong, Tuesday. Yonhap

Labor representatives on Tuesday lowered their proposal for the country's hourly minimum wage for next year to 11,500 won ($7.53), narrowing the gap with the business side's proposal.

The labor side proposed its fifth revised amount for next year's hourly minimum wage during a plenary session of the Minimum Wage Commission.

The latest proposal marks a 200-won drop from its previous proposal made last week.

The business side upped its proposal by 30 won to 10,440 won over the same period. The gap between the two sides narrowed to 1,060 won from the previous 1,290 won.

The labor side's latest proposal represents an 11.4 percent increase from this year's minimum wage of 10,320 won, while that of the business side marks a 1.2 percent rise.

The minimum wage is set each year by the Minimum Wage Commission, which is made up of representatives from labor, business and public interest groups.

If the two sides continue to fail to reach an agreement, public interest representatives could step in to mediate negotiations.

This year's minimum hourly wage marked a 2.9 percent increase from last year.