The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of South Korea's two umbrella labor groups, launched a protest rally in front of the presidential office on Friday, demanding President Moon Jae-in veto a controversial bill on the minimum wage.
Labor leaders strongly object to the legislation, which passed through the National Assembly on Monday, as it calls for newly counting some regular bonuses and welfare allowances when calculating minimum wage. The inclusion offsets the effect of a rise in the minimum wage.
South Korea raised the hourly minimum wage by 16.4 percent to 7,530 won in January, the biggest hike in nearly two decades, and plans to increase the threshold to 10,000 won by 2020. Counting bonuses and other benefits in minimum wage calculations was one of the demands from businesses.