South Korea's small business owners have announced they will boycott next year's minimum wage. 

At a press conference Thursday, the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise(KFME), representing the nation's small business owners, said its members will declare a "moratorium" on the country’s minimum wage and instead pay wages to their employees based on mutual consent.

The decision came after the small business owners' proposal to apply a differential minimum wage for businesses with less than five employees was rejected by the Minimum Wage Commission on Tuesday.

Business lobbies have long claimed the pace of minimum wage hikes is too fast and those most hurt will be smaller and low-income businesses.

A group representing some 70-thousand convenience store owners also vowed Thursday to consider closing down their stores across the country.

While representatives of employers boycotted Wednesday's commission meeting, those representing the government and unions plan to continue discussions to meet Saturday's deadline for next year's wage increase.