Daegu recorded the highest number of minimum wage law violation reports per 100,000 wage workers in the country for the sixth consecutive year. Workers in their 20s accounted for the largest share of victims, deepening concerns about poor employment conditions for young people in the region.
Reports of minimum wage law violations in areas under the Daegu Regional Employment and Labor Office stood at 6.5 per 100,000 wage workers from January to August this year, the highest nationwide, according to data obtained from the Ministry of Employment and Labor by Rep. Yoon Jae-ok of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee representing Dalseo-B district in Daegu, on the 21st.
The Gwangju office followed with 5.9 cases and the Seoul office with 4.7, against a national average of four. The rate in areas under the Daegu office was about 1.6 times the national average.
The Daegu office has ranked first every year since 2021. In 2021, it recorded 20.5 cases, 2.3 times the national average of 8.9, and last year it posted 10.7 cases, far above the national average of 6.0.
The damage was concentrated among young workers. A total of 1,887 workers in Daegu were confirmed to have been subject to minimum wage law violations between 2021 and August this year. Of those, 530, or 28.1%, were in their 20s, the largest share of any age group.
Job prospects for young people in the region are also tied to population outflow. Daegu posted the largest net outflow of people in their 20s among the country's seven major metropolitan cities for four straight years from 2021 to 2024. Last year, the net outflow of 4,884 was the second largest.
"Young people in Daegu already struggle to find good jobs, and even in the first job they manage to land, they are not properly paid the minimum wage," Yoon said. "If we cannot even protect their wages, there is no reason left for young people to stay in Daegu."
The lawmaker stopped short of calling for a punishment-centered approach. "With the minimum wage having risen quickly, unconditionally punishing small business owners is not the answer," Yoon said. "Labor authorities should take the lead with campaigns and guidance to open a path where young people and business owners can survive together."
Cases of pay falling far short of the legal minimum wage have surfaced in Daegu. At a debate on minimum wage violations affecting young people and university students in Daegu, held last year by the Democratic Party of Korea's Daegu chapter, it was revealed that a university student had worked at a convenience store in Daegu's Buk-gu district for 6,500 won an hour. That is close to the 2017 minimum wage of 6,470 won and just 65% of last year's minimum wage of 10,030 won.