The minimum wage in South Korea has been raised to 10,030 won ($7.29) per hour by 2025, up 170 won ($0.12) from the current level. This is the first time the minimum wage in the country has exceeded 10,000 won ($7.27) per hour since the minimum wage system was introduced in 1988.
Faced with a sharp increase in the minimum hourly wage, many small and micro businesses in Korea have chosen to cut staff and increase the use of automated equipment to reduce labor costs. Automation helps businesses eliminate four major insurance burdens: industrial accident insurance, health insurance, pension insurance, and unemployment insurance, while reducing labor management pressure due to frequent part-time employee absences.
The latest data shows that in 2023, the number of self-employed small businesses without employees in the food and accommodation industry in Korea will be 334,000, up 22,000 (about 7.05%) from 2017. During the same period, the number of self-employed small businesses with employees will increase by only 7,000 (2.14%), to 334,000. Notably, the minimum hourly wage in Korea will increase sharply by 48.7%, from 6,470 won (US$4.69) in 2017 to 9,620 won (US$6.97) in 2023.
In the restaurant industry in Korea, the use of self-service ordering and payment terminals is becoming more common. The number of self-service terminals, such as Torder's self-ordering machines, increased from 25,000 in 2022 to 100,000 in 2023 and exceeded 200,000 this year. Accordingly, the company's revenue increased from 480 million won (over 347,000 USD) in 2019 to 60 billion won (43.4 million USD) in 2023. The company provides self-service terminals mainly through contracts with many restaurants or franchise chains. Each device is charged 20,000-30,000 won (14-21 USD) per month as a rental or service fee.
A Torder official said that under pressure from the continued rise in the minimum hourly wage, many restaurant owners have contacted the company to install self-ordering machines. Mr. Cho, who runs a restaurant near Bangbae Station in Seoul’s Seocho-gu district, said the restaurant only employs one part-time employee to serve customers in the lobby. The rest of the restaurant has installed self-service terminals (which accept card payments) on 10 tables. The monthly fee for these devices is 300,000 won ($217).
Along with self-service terminals, there is growing interest in using robots to open unmanned or one-person stores. Doosan Robotics, a company specializing in the production of industrial robots, has launched the E0509 robot specially designed for the food and beverage industry, which can be used for a variety of operations such as making coffee, frying chicken, cooking noodles, etc. In fact, some Korean fried chicken brands have also used these robots for frying chicken, realizing the one-person operation model of the store owner. Unmanned cafes using robots are also developing rapidly.
Experts say that with the current labor shortage and rising prices, the automation trend in Korea will expand to other fields to reduce production and management costs.
MINH CHAU
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/cat-giam-nhan-vien-tang-tu-dong-hoa-post749996.html
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