A decision on South Korea’s minimum wage for next year may be delivered by Friday morning, if not sooner.

The Minimum Wage Commission began its ninth plenary session at the government complex in Sejong on Thursday to determine the minimum wage increase that will take effect in 2026.

Labor and management each submitted their fifth revised proposals, of 11-thousand-140 won and 10-thousand-130 won, respectively, up from this year's minimum of 10-thousand-30 won.

During the fourth round of revisions, the labor side modified its initial demand of 11-thousand-500 to 11-thousand-260 won per hour, while the management side, which had previously demanded a freeze at the current rate, upped its proposal to 10-thousand-110 won per hour.

The commission, which has already missed the deadline of June 29 to set the minimum wage for next year, must hand over the related bill by mid-July to the minister of employment and labor, who must then confirm and announce the minimum wage rate by August 5.