Hwaseong Special Municipality Sets 2027 Living Wage at 12,750 Won per Hour, Introduces 'Hwaseong-Style Fair Compensation'

Hwaseong Special Municipality (Mayor Jeong Myung-geun) announced on the 8th that it has set the 2027 living wage at 12,750 won per hour.

This represents a 5.5% increase from this year's living wage of 12,090 won. Based on a standard 8-hour workday and 40-hour workweek with 209 hours applied per month, this amounts to 2,664,750 won monthly.

The city previously held a Living Wage Deliberation Committee meeting on August 24, comprehensively reviewing the government's 2027 minimum wage of 10,700 won, appropriate wage levels, and the city's financial condition. The living wage determined this time is approximately 19% higher than the government's 2027 minimum wage and will be broadly applied to workers belonging to Hwaseong Special Municipality as well as those employed by city-invested and city-funded institutions.

In line with the government's policy direction for improving treatment of non-regular workers in the public sector, the city plans to provide a 'Hwaseong-Style Fair Compensation' to fixed-term workers with contract periods of less than one year directly employed by public institutions to compensate for employment instability.

The 'Hwaseong-Style Fair Compensation' is characterized by applying the calculation method presented in the government plan while using the Hwaseong Special Municipality living wage—higher than the government standard—as the compensation benchmark, reflecting regional characteristics and improving worker treatment.

The compensation rate is 8.5~10%, with higher rates applied for shorter contract periods. This addresses the problem of short-term contract workers being excluded from severance pay eligibility due to contract periods of less than one year.

Compensation is disbursed on a graduated basis ranging from a minimum of 400,000 won to a maximum of 2,605,000 won depending on the period of service, with those working less than one month calculated based on the number of days worked. The system will apply starting with workers retiring on or after January 1, 2027.

Mayor Jeong Myung-geun of Hwaseong Special Municipality stated, "This living wage increase and introduction of Hwaseong-Style Fair Compensation are policies designed to materialize our municipal administration philosophy of 'a city where workers can live with peace of mind and a city good for business,'" and added, "There is significance in creating a virtuous cycle where improved quality of life for workers leads to expanded consumer spending capacity and reinvigorates the local economy."