Gwangmyeong City Sets Next Year's Living Wage at 7,320 Won Per Hour

The Gwangmyeong City Living Wage Deliberation Committee passed a resolution on the 26th to set the hourly living wage at 7,320 won (1,529,880 won per month) to be applied from 2017.

This is 850 won higher than the minimum wage of 6,470 won announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor for next year.

The committee's decision was based on the average wages of regular workers from Statistics Korea in 2016, the consumer price index, and the standard working hours of 40 hours per week (209 hours per month) for workers.

The living wage applies to workers employed by Gwangmyeong City and workers of institutions in which the city invests, contributes funds, or outsources operations. It is estimated that more than 500 workers will be covered under next year's living wage standards.

Meanwhile, the living wage refers to a wage level higher than the minimum wage that enables low-income workers to maintain minimum standards of human and cultural living.

A city official stated, "Since the living wage significantly contributes to the livelihood stability of low-wage workers, we plan to increase the amount annually as part of efforts to resolve income inequality."

Gwangmyeong City enacted the living wage ordinance in September last year and has been implementing it since this year.