Minimum Hourly Wage for Next Year Set at W5,580

The minimum wage will increase to W5,580 per hour next year, up W370 or 7.1 percent from this year's W5,210, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on Monday (US$1=W1,034).

The increase will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2015. That translates to W44,640 per day for those who work eight hours per day.

The ministry estimates that the increase will apply to some 2.27 million workers, or 14.6 percent of the total employed population.