Anchor: A tripartite negotiation to set next year's minimum wage was interrupted by a boycott by members representing the labor community, where they slammed the government for suppressing the nation’s workers. The protest is likely to cause the commission to miss Thursday's legal deadline to finalize next year's rate.
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: A plenary session of the Minimum Wage Commission to set the rate for next year collapsed on Tuesday after eight members representing the labor community walked out in protest of what they called the "government's oppression of laborers."

During the meeting, the labor representatives announced their boycott, accusing the government of senselessly suppressing workers while taking the lives and livelihoods of minimum wage workers as collateral.

The boycott comes after the government dismissed Kim Jun-young, an executive of the Federation of Korean Metalworkers' Trade Unions, from the commission after he was arrested for obstructing police while being apprehended for staging a sit-in atop scaffolding.

While the Federation of Korean Trade Unions(FKTU), a major umbrella participating in the dialogue, recommended the head of the metalworkers' union as a replacement, the labor ministry rejected the idea on the grounds that he is also being investigated.

With the latest development, the commission is unlikely to meet the legal deadline on Thursday to approve a new rate and submit the plan to the labor minister.

For a wage rate to be put to a vote, at least one-third of labor and management circles within the 27-member commission must be in attendance.

With the labor community demanding a 26-point-nine-percent increase from this year's rate to 12-thousand-210 won per hour, FKTU President Kim Dong-myeong has staged a sit-in to call for the rate hike.

The business contingent, for their part, have called for a wage freeze at nine-thousand-620 won per hour, citing limitations to their payment capabilities.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.