In theory, higher wages for the average worker would be ideal, of course. But realistically speaking...

Yes, the goal of hitting ten-thousand won a hour may not be feasible by 2020.

As President Moon and other officials have suggested.

Right. Amid the controversy, it seems the government will slow down the pace of the minimum wage hike -- as well as focus on helping small businesses build the capacity to afford higher wages, as prime minister said today.
On Monday, the president mentioned solutions like reducing credit card transaction fees, royalty and rent fees for small businesses -- which would of course be helpful but it only scratches the surface of the matter, according to experts.
Economists and an association of small businesses have called for a system that applies different minimum wage standards depending on the size of the business.

"Initially, they have to apply different minimum wage for different jobs, different wage groups. That was the first ask of SMEs. Whenever the government tries to do something for the workers, it also has to prepare equally important measures for the small shop owners. That's non-existent. That's why so many small shop owners are furious. So the government should prepare a comprehensive policy to make SME owners more competitive in a minimum wage environment."

Well, we'll have to see what kind of developments happen there and what the government comes up with, but it seems like there's quite a long road ahead.
Thanks for your report, Sooyoung.

Thank you for having me.