Kim Seong-hwan, chairman of the policy committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, speaks at a nuclear meeting held at the National Assembly on the 28th. Parliamentary photojournalists
On the 30th, Kim Seong-hwan, chairman of the Democratic Party’s policy committee, criticized the current government, saying, “It is not the right solution to deal with the suffering of the economy with high inflation and high interest rates through suppression of wage increases.”
Chairman Kim said at the party policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on the same day, “After the media reported on the 28th that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho asked, ‘Excessive wage increase exacerbates the high inflation situation, so please refrain from raising wages.’ Office workers are pouring lamentations,” he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Choo met with the Korea Employers’ Federation (KEF) on the 28th and asked, “Considering the recent difficulties in the Korean economy, it is hoped that the business community should refrain from excessive wage increases and raise wages to an appropriate level within the scope of productivity improvement.” Chairman Kim criticized this, saying, “It’s even less the government that cuts taxes for the rich in all sorts of ways, such as abolishing corporate tax cuts and stock capital gains tax, for the chaebol and the rich.”
Chairman Kim pointed out, “If wages do not rise in a situation where prices rise, wages will actually decrease.” Chairman Kim said, “According to the research results of the Korea Labor Research Institute, the inflation rate caused by a 10% increase in the minimum wage is only 0.2~0.4%. It means that the price of the desired bread is 501 won or 502 won.”
Chairman Kim said that next year’s minimum wage was set at 9,620 won, up 460 won (5%) from this year’s (9,160 won), and he said, “I am sorry for the minimum wage increase that has not kept pace with the level of inflation.” Chairman Kim criticized, “At this moment of the economic crisis, what the people want is not a three-pronged government of incompetence, inaction, and inaction,” he said.
Chairman Kim said, “Even now, the government must protect the quality of life of workers living on wages, while mobilizing all the government’s policy tools to stabilize the lives of people suffering from high prices and high interest rates.”
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