One fifth of young S. Korean workers making less than minimum wage
- 5 years ago
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South Korea's minimum wage was raised to about 6 U.S. dollars last year.
But many young workers reportedly are getting paid only around 80 percent of that amount.
Seo Bo-bin sheds light on this issue.
According to a report from the Korea Labor Institute, there are almost 6-hundred-80 thousand young people working for less than minimum wage.
That's 18-point-4 percent of people between the ages of 15 and 29, or almost one fifth of them.
Back in 2012, when the minimum wage was significantly lower, there were fewer than 380-thousand young workers getting less than minimum wage, but by 2016, that had ballooned to 625-thousand.
The next year it dipped by several thousand but shot up again in 2018, when the minimum wage was raised by 16 percent.
On average last year, those young people making less than the minimum got an average 5 U.S. dollars an hour, 20% less than they're legally entitled to.
Because of the higher minimum wage in the past couple of years, many employers are taking their chances and breaking the law.
The Moon administration appears to have conceded that its wage hikes need to slow down.
In the meantime, experts say the way to stop young people from being underpaid is to strengthen monitoring and enforcement, but that's easier said than done.
Seo Bo-bin, Arirang News.
South Korea's minimum wage was raised to about 6 U.S. dollars last year.
But many young workers reportedly are getting paid only around 80 percent of that amount.
Seo Bo-bin sheds light on this issue.
According to a report from the Korea Labor Institute, there are almost 6-hundred-80 thousand young people working for less than minimum wage.
That's 18-point-4 percent of people between the ages of 15 and 29, or almost one fifth of them.
Back in 2012, when the minimum wage was significantly lower, there were fewer than 380-thousand young workers getting less than minimum wage, but by 2016, that had ballooned to 625-thousand.
The next year it dipped by several thousand but shot up again in 2018, when the minimum wage was raised by 16 percent.
On average last year, those young people making less than the minimum got an average 5 U.S. dollars an hour, 20% less than they're legally entitled to.
Because of the higher minimum wage in the past couple of years, many employers are taking their chances and breaking the law.
The Moon administration appears to have conceded that its wage hikes need to slow down.
In the meantime, experts say the way to stop young people from being underpaid is to strengthen monitoring and enforcement, but that's easier said than done.
Seo Bo-bin, Arirang News.