Members of the Minimum Wage Council representing public interests, management and labor on July 10 take a group photo at the council's 12th plenary meeting at Government Complex-Sejong in Sejong. (Yonhap News)

By Lee Dasom

The minimum hourly wage for next year has been set at KRW 10,320, up 2.9% from this year's.

The Minimum Wage Council on July 10 decided this at its 12th plenary meeting at Government Complex-Sejong in Sejong through consensus among council members representing labor, management and public interests. This is the first time since 2008 for the wage to be set through agreement.

The 2026 hourly minimum wage is up KRW 290 from this year's KRW 10,030, which translates to average monthly pay of KRW 2,156,880 based on 209 work hours.

The council said an estimated 782,000 workers will be affected by the wage hike based on an employment status survey by job type, or an impact rate of 4.5%, and 2,904,000 according to a supplementary study on the economically active population (13.1%).

Based on the Minimum Wage Act, the council submits the resolution on the wage level to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which will finalize and announce the sum by Aug. 5. The new wage will take effect on Jan. 1.

dlektha0319@korea.kr