The Korea Federation of Small Businesses announced on the 27th that it will submit an objection to next year's minimum wage plan (an hourly wage of 10,700 won) to the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The government called for a reconsideration of the wage plan announced by the government on the 16th. It is the first time in four years that the association has submitted an objection since 2022.

In a press conference earlier in the day, Song Ki-young, chairman of the Korea Federation of Small Businesses, said, "It means that about 79,000 won per month and 950,000 won per year will increase, and four-person workplaces will incur an additional burden of more than 10 million won per year, including the four major insurance burdens."

Chairman Song also said, "Four out of 10 small business owners have an average monthly operating profit of less than 2 million won, so they cannot even take the monthly conversion of the minimum wage (2.236,300 won)."

In its objection, the association criticized next year's minimum wage plan as a decision that did not take into account small business owners who lost their ability to pay, but ignored the difference in ability to pay by industry. It also said that the decision turned a blind eye to objective data and actual conditions in the field, including a decline in employment quality, such as a surge in ultra-short work, and a polarization of the rate below the minimum wage among industries.

According to the Bank of Korea data presented by the Federation of Small Businesses, the total loan balance of self-employed people reached an all-time high of 1092.9 trillion won as of the end of last year. The delinquency rate for vulnerable borrowers nearly tripled in just four years, from 4.36% at the end of 2021 to 12.14% at the end of 2025. According to the National Tax Service's national tax statistics, the total closure rate of businesses in 2025 was 8.64%, but 751,264 out of 6,031,483 small business owners, including retail and food, closed their businesses, recording an 11.08%.

On this day, the association urged the government and the National Assembly to strengthen the representation of small business owners by the Minimum Wage Committee, decide on the minimum wage every other year, apply classification by industry, and revive job security funds.

[Reporter Yang]