Labor and management remain divided over next year's minimum wage.

The Minimum Wage Commission, a tripartite panel composed of nine representatives each from labor, management and the general public, convened its ninth full session on Tuesday to discuss next year’s rate. 

Labor representatives demanded the minimum wage be set at 12-thousand-600 won per hour or about nine U.S. dollars and eleven cents which is up nearly 28 percent compared to this year’s rate of nine-thousand-860 won, or seven dollars and 13 cents.

Management representatives, on their part, proposed freezing the rate.  

The labor sector claims the minimum wage must be sharply raised when taking into account the hardship faced by low-income laborers resulting from high inflation and drop in laborers’ real wages. 

Management, meanwhile, said the rate has risen too much the past several years and argued that the rate must be stabilized by taking into consideration small businesses’ weakened solvency. 

As the deadline for setting the rate is August 5, the commission is expected to reach a decision by next week at the latest.