Daegu council member urges focus on minimum wage for youth over public institution head pay raises

A city council member in Daegu has sharply criticized the municipal government's proposal to raise the maximum annual salary for heads of public institutions. Park Jeong-hee, a proportional representative for the Democratic Party of Korea in the Daegu City Council, argued that the city should prioritize ensuring young people receive at least the minimum wage before increasing executive compensation.

The Daegu city government submitted a draft ordinance to the City Council that would set the maximum annual salary for public institution executives at 181.18 million won. This figure is linked to seven times the current annual minimum wage, which amounts to 25.88 million won. The proposed cap represents a significant increase from the current limit of 120 million won, a rise of 61.18 million won.

“

I want to ask if Mayor Chu has the same level of commitment to ensuring young people receive the minimum wage as he does to preparing an ordinance to raise the salary cap for public institution heads immediately after taking office.

Park highlighted a perceived contradiction between the current proposal and campaign pledges made by Mayor Chu Kyo-han during the local election period. She recalled young people at university events expressing concerns about businesses not paying minimum wage. At the time, Chu mentioned considering regional differences in minimum wage application, a statement that drew controversy. Park questioned whether the mayor would also lower the public institution heads' salary cap if a regional minimum wage differential were implemented, making Daegu's minimum wage lower.

“

If we implement regional minimum wage differentiation and Daegu's minimum wage is lowered, will the salary cap for institution heads also be lowered? We cannot ignore the current issues faced by young people who don't even receive the legal minimum wage while using it as a basis for institution heads' salaries.

While not opposing the ordinance itself, Park stressed that increased compensation should be accompanied by higher accountability. She called for clear performance metrics for executives, the implementation of confirmation hearings, and the disclosure of data verifying the effectiveness of talent recruitment. Additionally, she urged the city to develop measures to improve the treatment of young people and low-wage workers who earn minimum wage.

Daegu city officials defended the proposal, stating that the current salary cap is too low compared to other cities, making it difficult to attract qualified individuals. They argue the revision aims to create a more rational compensation system that reflects inflation, rather than a blanket increase for all executives. The current fixed cap of 120 million won for public institution heads, set during the tenure of former Mayor Hong Joon-pyo in 2022, is unique among South Korean provincial governments.

“

It is not about a blanket increase in the salaries of institution heads. The intention is to rationally improve the current rigid compensation system that does not even reflect the inflation rate.