Moon Jae-in in 2017: a Korean minimum wage of 10,000 won an hour by 2020. In 2020: 8,590 won
Moon Jae-in1 May 2017 · Labour Day campaign statement, eight days before the election
«We will raise the minimum wage to 10,000 won by 2020.»
In 2020 the minimum wage was 8,590 won an hour; it passed 10,000 won only in 2025 (10,030), under the next president.
In the first two years the minimum rose 16.4% and 10.9%, then the rises slowed. It passed 10,000 won in 2025, at 10,030 won, under the next president.
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A Korean presidential candidate promised to raise the hourly minimum wage by half in three years. It rose fast early in the term and reached the promise five years after the deadline.
First the words: who said it, when and where, verbatim (translations are ours). Answer Yes or No, or just open the answer: the stamp is the outcome, below it what came of it. On the chart the dark line is the fact year by year up to the deadline, the pale one after it; the blue dashed line is the promised number from the year of the words to the deadline, the light band the time the promise gave; the ring on the line is when it was said, the ring in the stamp’s colour the fact in the deadline year, beside it how far it landed from the goal. The numbers on the right are the scale.
- Moon Jae-in, Labour Day campaign statement, eight days before the election quote
«최저임금을 2020년까지 1만원으로 인상하겠다» — We will raise the minimum wage to 10,000 won by 2020.
- What happened late
In 2020 the minimum wage was 8,590 won an hour; it passed 10,000 won only in 2025 (10,030), under the next president.
Quote: Moon Jae-in’s 2017 campaign pledge (Democratic Party). Fact: decisions of Korea’s Minimum Wage Commission by year. Outcome: «came true» — the promised number reached by the deadline («about» within 5%), an event happened before the end of the year promised; «exceeded» — with room to spare; «nearly» — short by no more than 10%; «late» — reached, but after the deadline; «did not come true» — not reached; «came true, then undone» — reached, then reversed. The deadline is the end of the year named.
The minimum wage is set by a tripartite commission (unions, employers, independent members), not the president. After rises of 16.4% in 2018 and 10.9% in 2019 increases slowed; in 2020 Moon publicly acknowledged the 2020 goal would not be met.
A question for this picture
How fast can a minimum wage rise without costing jobs?