Should delivery riders and couriers get minimum wage? The question dominates next year's review

As the Minimum Wage Commission ramps up deliberations to set next year's minimum wage, whether to extend minimum wage protections to contract and platform workers — including delivery riders and couriers — has emerged as the central issue of this year's review.

Labor groups have pushed for the change for years, and the debate has gained new urgency after Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon formally asked the commission to establish criteria for such workers, saying the body must become "a minimum wage commission for everyone." Whether substantive progress will be made this year is now closely watched.

According to government and labor sources, the Minimum Wage Commission will hold its third plenary session Wednesday at the Government Sejong Complex to continue deliberations on next year's minimum wage. The 27-member panel — composed of nine worker representatives, nine employer representatives and nine public-interest members — is set to open discussions on how to apply the minimum wage to contract workers, beginning with a presentation by the labor side.

Kim met reporters at the Government Sejong Complex on May 27 and said the ministry's position is that the commission should establish clear standards for contract workers. "If the quantitative goal until now was ushering in the era of a 10,000-won minimum wage, it is now time to make this a minimum wage commission for everyone," he said.

Kim said the minimum wage system "has reached a stage where it must also grapple with internal labor market disparities and blind spots," arguing that protections for contract and platform workers should be debated within the minimum wage framework — not just the rate of increase.

The third plenary session Wednesday will take up the question of how to apply the minimum wage to contract workers as a main agenda item.

Contract workers are paid based on output under a contracting arrangement rather than a standard employment contract. The category covers a wide range of workers, including delivery riders, couriers, designated-driver service providers and private tutors employed by learning material companies — many of whom work through digital platforms.

The current Minimum Wage Act contains a provision allowing for minimum wage coverage of contract workers, but the absence of specific calculation methods and application standards has left the provision in effect inoperative. A large share of special-employment and platform workers are also classified as self-employed individuals rather than employees under the Labor Standards Act, excluding them from minimum wage protections altogether.

Labor groups have long argued that minimum wage guarantees must be extended to contract and platform workers to address low-wage structures and strengthen the social safety net. However, disagreements over how to calculate and apply such a standard have stalled progress.

This year, observers say the debate carries considerably more weight after Minister Kim formally requested that the commission take up the issue.

Kim has also weighed in on the Samsung Electronics bonus controversy, questioning whether "it is right for only full-time employees to take home excess profits" and repeatedly calling for narrowing the gap between primary contractors and subcontractors and reducing inequality within the labor market.

At Wednesday's session, Park Jeong-hun, vice chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' public transport union, will present the labor side's proposal on applying the minimum wage to contract workers. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions is also expected to present its position.

Once the labor side's demands are on the table, employer representatives will respond and public-interest members will begin their review, marking the start of full-scale labor-management debate on the issue.

After the contract worker discussions, the commission is expected to revisit the business community's longstanding demand for sector-based differentiation in the minimum wage. Employer representatives argue that differential rates are needed to reflect the operating conditions of industries such as accommodation and food service, while labor groups oppose the idea as a violation of the equal-pay-for-equal-work principle.

Both sides are expected to submit their opening proposals in mid-June. Labor groups are demanding a substantial increase, citing high inflation and the cost-of-living burden, while business groups are calling for a freeze or minimal increase given the financial difficulties facing small business owners and the self-employed.

Public sentiment also leans toward a higher minimum wage. A survey by civic group Workplace Harassment 119 of 1,000 employed adults aged 19 and older found that 62.3 percent of respondents said the appropriate minimum wage for 2027 should be at least 12,000 won ($8) per hour. This year's minimum wage stands at 10,320 won per hour, a 2.9 percent increase — or 290 won — from the previous year.

The statutory deadline for the commission to complete its deliberations falls within 90 days of the minister's formal request, putting the cutoff at the end of June. Reviews routinely run past the legal deadline into July, however, and this year is expected to be no different.