The government has begun discussions to come up with measures to improve the nation’s wage system and resolve a highly controversial issue of whether to include bonuses as part of “ordinary wages,” officials said Friday.

A Labor Ministry committee held its first meeting to discuss whether to include regular bonuses in ordinary wages, which would have a significant financial impact on companies, said the labor ministry officials.

Ordinary wages refer to payments in addition to one’s salary that include overtime pay, holiday shift, paid annual leave, severance and other allowances.

Lim Chong-yul, an honorary professor of labor laws at Seoul’s Sungkyunkwan University, will head the committee composed of 12 labor experts, the officials said. It will meet up to twice a week for the next two months to gather opinions from the labor and management, they said.

It will then introduce a relevant bill or enforcement ordinance at the next parliamentary regular session slated for September, they added. (Yonhap News)