As the plan to apply next year's minimum wage by industry was scrapped, small business circles said they "express deep regret along with a sense of futility."
The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise (KFME) issued a statement on the 19th, saying, "Small business owners are facing a breaking point as they suffer severe consumption contraction amid high inflation, high interest rates, and a strong dollar," and added, "Sales have been slashed, while rent, raw material prices, and even public utility fees have all soared to levels that are impossible to bear as an expense."
It continued, "Even under these circumstances, the minimum wage has risen every single year without exception," and noted, "Labor groups proposed 12,000 won—a 16.3% increase from this year—as the 2027 minimum wage level, and the outrageous demand by large-company union members, who ignore the tearful plight of small business owners and seek only to fatten themselves by using the minimum wage as a lever, paradoxically proves the need to differentiate the minimum wage."
It added, "Around the world, minimum wages are set in various ways by region, industry, and skill level, so insisting on a single national system disregards the circumstances of small business owners who lack the ability to pay."
It also said, "Despite the existence of a legal basis, small business owners cannot help but be angry at the reality in which institutional diversity is blocked each year under the weight of labor's opposition and political logic, while the actual conditions and data of small business owners are ignored."
Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the Minimum Wage Act stipulates that "the minimum wage may be set separately by type of business."
The federation said, "We clearly state that all responsibility for the failure to apply lies with the Minimum Wage Commission, which ignored on-the-ground realities," and added, "We strongly urge that the payment capacity of small business owners be absolutely reflected in the upcoming deliberations on the minimum wage amount."