Next year, delivery riders and courier workers classified as contracted labor will not be subject to the minimum wage. Although labor groups argued for the expansion of the minimum wage application to these workers, the discussion was abandoned this year based on the recommendations from public commissioners of the Minimum Wage Commission.
On the 10th, the Minimum Wage Commission held its 4th plenary meeting at the Government Sejong Office and reached this conclusion. This meeting was the first held since the new government took office. Previously, the commissioners had continued discussions on the labor group's assertion that "contracted workers, including special employment, platform, and freelancers, should also be subject to an expanded minimum wage," but they concluded the discussions without reconciling the differences between labor and management.
In response, the public commissioners of the Minimum Wage Commission noted, "The labor group prepared discussions regarding the specific types, characteristics, and scales of the workers subject to (the contracted labor minimum wage application), but they judged that the discussions were unlikely to progress based on the preliminary surveys provided so far."
They also recommended, "The Ministry of Employment and Labor should investigate the current state regarding the subjects, scale, income, and working conditions related to contracted workers to the extent possible, and we request that the results be submitted during the 2027 minimum wage deliberation next year."
Thus, the discussions on the "expansion of the minimum wage application for contracted workers" ended in this year's Minimum Wage Commission meeting, which decides next year's minimum wage level. It is expected that discussions regarding the management's demands, such as "sector-specific minimum wage differentiated application," will come to the table in the next meeting.
The next 5th meeting will be held on the 17th. The Minimum Wage Commission also decided to speed up the deliberations by holding meetings twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) starting next week.
Meanwhile, the Korean Federation of Trade Unions, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, and the Minimum Wage Movement Headquarters will hold a press conference the next morning to present the proposed minimum wage level for 2026. After the labor group officially submits its initial demands to the Minimum Wage Commission, substantial deliberations on the minimum wage level can begin. The labor group proposed 12,600 won per hour as its initial demand last year. The current minimum wage is 10,300 won.