Recently, a raise of the minimum wage is very controversial in Korea.
Some people agree with it because of improving the quality of a worker’s life and growing the economy. Some people disagree with it because of rising labor costs and worker laziness.


A raise of the minimum wage has a strong influence on society because of gaining income of the individuals, activating economy, preventing labor of exploitation, and income redistribution. However, Korea has had a stagnant economy for the last 10 years, and there have been scarcely any wage increases since 2008. For these reasons, the minimum wage should be raised.
First, a raise of the minimum wage improves the quality of a worker’s life because it gives them more time to do other things. They can get more time spending with family, doing hobbies, and studying. This is also true for the approximately 607,000 university students who more minimum wage part-time jobs. They work part-time to make spending money or to pay for tuition. Because the minimum wage is low, they spend too much time working part-time rather than doing important things like studying. If the minimum wage were raised, university students could work less. Then they would have more time for self-development or relaxation.
Second, the minimum wage is not enough money for a decent standard of living for most people. The minimum wage is based on living expenses of a single person. However, 80 percent of the workers who get minimum wage are the only sources of income in the household. If the minimum wage is low, they can not take care of their families. Therefore, the minimum wage should be raised.
Third, a raise of the minimum wage encourages consumption, so it also offers economic benefits. It helps increase because they have more money. Low-income people have a great propensity to consume, so they would spend more. This would help the Korean economy grow. Countries like Japan and Brazil have been successful with these policies.
In conclusion, the minimum wage should be raised for these three reasons. The most important fact is that the minimum wage system is directly connected to the well-being of a family, so the minimum wage should be at an acceptable level. To do this, the minimum wage should be raised. If workers’ circumstances don’t improve, the minimum wage may become a deeper controversy.

● Opinion from a reader (Kim Ji-yeon, Department of English Education)
A raise of the minimum wage system can improve the quality of a worker’s life. If they get more money for the same time, they will work harder. Then employers can get more benefits such as higher production or efficiency. Therefore, I think this policy benefits the workers and employers.



Currently, South Korea's minimum wage is 6,470 won per hour. However, people are constantly demanding a minimum wage of 10,000 won. I know that most people are only optimistic about the minimum wage increase and have never thought about the variety of problems that it will cause. However, given various circumstances, a raise of the minimum wage can hurt workers as well as employers. I oppose the minimum wage increase for three reasons.
First, raising the minimum wage is a huge burden, especially on small business owners. Large companies have a burden from an increase in their workers' wages, but it is less than small businesses. Small business owners will try to compensate for the larger cost of labor by increasing the cost of goods. Unfortunately, people won't buy goods or products from small businesses that are more expensive than larger companies. They become less competitive. When this happens, small businesses will shorten working hours to cover increased labor cost or go bankrupt.
Second, if labor costs increase, employers will decrease the number of employees. Actually, in various industries, machines are replacing people, which is causing the employment rate to decrease these days. For example, you can see a lot of PC rooms that use machines instead of people to take payments for not only the PC room fee, but also food and drink. Even big corporations such as McDonalds have begun using a touchscreen order-payment system. Also, banks are striving to introduce ATMs that issue credit and check cards, in addition to having cash deposits and withdrawals. Obviously, the more labor costs go up, the more likely unmanned systems will expand to all industries.
Third, an excessive wage increase will cause young people to not get a permanent job. Actually, the minimum wage has been rising steadily in Korea. If the minimum wage becomes too high, people can earn a living by working part-time jobs only. Then young people will no longer be obsessed with employment. For example, in Japan, which is famous for its high minimum wage, young people who make a living through working part-time jobs don’t have the desire to get a real job. This is becoming a serious problem due to employment instability.
It would be nice if the minimum wage could benefit employers and employees, but judging by the above evidence, this system can hurt both. Therefore, we must foster a vision that is objective and long-term about minimum wage increases.


● Opinion from a reader (Lee Ji-won, Department of Medicine)
I think that raising the minimum wage isn’t good because it can hurt some small scale companies’ owner-operators. Instead, it is more important to punish unscrupulous owners who don’t pay wages properly. I believe that it would be better to strengthen the labor standards law than increase the minimum wage.