The government has set next year's minimum wage at eight-thousand-590 won per hour, affirming the rate a special wage commission decided on last month.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the decision Monday, adding that the hourly wage floor will be uniformly applied to all workplaces beginning January 1 next year.

The ministry also announced that a full-time minimum wage worker will earn one million and 795-thousand-310 won per month for 209 hours of work. 

The multilateral Minimum Wage Commission, consisting of equal parts labor and business representatives as well as government-picked experts, voted on July 12 to raise next year’s hourly wage floor by two-point-nine percent to eight-thousand-590 won.

After the decision, labor officials had sought unsuccessfully to extend negotiations further, urging a minimum wage increase commensurate with the double-digit hikes observed the last two consecutive years.