The Republic of Korea has increased its minimum wage for all workers, including Filipino workers, under its new wage system, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
Effective Jan. 1, 2020, employees in South Korea, regardless of their employment status or nationality, will now receive an hourly minimum wage of 8,580 Korean won (P373) from the 8,350 won (P363) hourly rate in 2019. Workers will now receive a monthly minimum wage of 1,795,310 won (P78,095) for 209 working hours per month and 40-hour workweek including paid holidays.
POEA advised Filipino workers to be informed of Korea’s new wage system and seek assistance from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office or the nearest job stability center, which has jurisdiction over the concerned workers’ workplace if their employer failed to pay the prescribed salary.
Korea is one of the Philippines’s favored destinations for overseas Filipino workers. —Tina G. Santos