Deputy Prime Minister Chu’s remarks aroused strong opposition from office workers.
It was intended that the wage increases of large companies might fuel the steep rise in prices, but now that all but salaries have already risen, there are voices asking why they pass the sacrifice on to ‘salaried workers’.
[익명 / 직장인 : 정부가 물가 오르는 걸 해결해야 하는데, 저희 월급이나 연봉으로 해결하려는 게 좀 아닌 거 같아요.]
[익명 / 직장인 : 왜 물가를 잡는다고 국민을 괴롭히느냐….]
Even in online communities, you can easily find articles that claim to start with the salary of an office worker.
However, in reality, the wage increase of some large companies leads to an increase in the salaries of all workers,
Analysts suggest that this might lead to an overall inflation.
[이정환 / 한양대 경제금융학부 교수 : 대기업 노동자들 임금이 오르면 바로 밑에 기업들도 인플레이션 압력과 대기업 근로 조건에 따라 임금을 올릴 인센티브가 생기게 됩니다. 인플레이션 압력을 심하게 할 수 있는 기제가 될 수 있습니다.]
Earlier this year, the Korea Employers’ Federation also recommended that large companies raise wages to a minimum level due to rapid inflation and bridging social gaps earlier this year.
However, given that the current high inflation is largely due to external causes such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there are many forecasts that suppression of wage increases may have a limited effect on inflation.
