Labor representatives lower minimum wage proposal to 11,450 won

SEJONG, July 7 (Yonhap) -- Labor representatives on Tuesday lowered their proposal for the country's hourly minimum wage for next year to 11,450 won (US$7.52), narrowing the gap with the business side's proposal.

The labor side proposed its sixth revised amount for next year's hourly minimum wage during a plenary session of the Minimum Wage Commission.

The two sides, however, failed to reach an agreement despite narrowing their differences to 990 won from the previous 1,060 won.

Earlier in the meeting, labor had initially proposed an hourly rate of 11,500 won, while the business side offered 10,440 won in their fifth revised proposals.

The labor side later lowered its proposal by 50 won to 11,450 won, while the business side upped its offer by 20 won to 10,460 won.

The proposals represent increases of 10.9 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively, from this year's hourly minimum wage of 10,320 won.

The next plenary session has tentatively been scheduled for Thursday.

The minimum wage is set each year by the Minimum Wage Commission, which is made up of representatives from labor, business and public interest groups.

If the two sides continue to fail to reach an agreement, public interest representatives could step in to mediate negotiations.

This year's minimum hourly wage marked a 2.9 percent increase from last year.