South Korea sets new record minimum wage for 2025

South Korea’s minimum hourly wage for next year has been set at 10,030 won ($7.30) per hour, breaking the 10,000 won ($7.27) threshold for the first time in history.

The amount established during the 11th plenary meeting of the Minimum Wage Committee This represents an increase of 170 won (13 cents), or 1.7 percent, from 9,860 won ($7.17) in 2024. The year-on-year increase rate is the second lowest in history.

The 2025 minimum hourly wage translates to a monthly salary of 2,096,270 won ($1,525), based on a 40-hour workweek.

According to data from the National Statistics Office, it is estimated that around 3 million workers will benefit from the new minimum wage starting next year.

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After some union representatives walked out in protest, deeming the increase too low, the remaining employers’ representatives and a majority of public representatives adopted the 10,030 won minimum wage in the vote.

Initially, union representatives had proposed a minimum hourly wage of 12,600 won ($9.17) by 2025, while management had suggested a freeze.

The 2025 minimum hourly wage is the first to exceed 10,000 won since South Korea introduced the minimum wage system in 1988. The amount had previously exceeded the 5,000 won ($3.63) threshold in 2014.

The 1.7% year-over-year increase is the second smallest since the 1.5% increase recorded in 2021.

After the committee presents its determination on the new minimum wage, the Ministry of Employment and Labor must announce it publicly before August 5 for it to come into force in early 2025.

Union members, who have protested in conjunction with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the country’s most militant trade union, strongly denounced the result and said they cannot accept it.

Of the nine union representatives on the Minimum Wage Committee, four KCTU members boycotted the vote, while the remaining five and four of the nine members representing the public are estimated to have voted in favor of another proposal, of 10,120 won ($7.36) per hour, which was put to a vote along with the winning proposal of 10,030 won.