"Salary to Be Negotiated After Interview" May Disappear

If you've ever prepared for job hunting, you've likely encountered these phrases at least once. "Salary according to company policy", "to be negotiated after interview". Have you ever experienced looking at job postings without knowing how much you'd actually earn?

President Lee Jae-myung addressed this issue head-on. It happened at the Economic, Social and Labor Council's labor policy forum held at the Blue House on the 19th. When a youth representative from the labor sector raised the concern that "most job postings don't disclose wages, perpetuating the low-wage structure for young people," President Lee agreed, stating "it's problematic not to inform applicants about monthly wages during recruitment."

Legally Not a Problem, But...

Under current law, companies are not violating any regulations by not disclosing wages in job postings. This has resulted in a long-standing structure where job seekers cannot know the exact compensation level until after joining the company.

Regarding this criticism, President Lee acknowledged it as "a valid point" and stated that "disclosure is necessary, at least within an average level or certain range." He also emphasized that wage disclosure could stimulate competition among companies, potentially raising overall wage levels.

Government's Alternative: 'Industry-Standard Wage Information'

Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon responded immediately. Acknowledging that company-specific wage disclosure carries burdens such as trade secrets, he announced plans to first pursue providing standard wage information at the industry level.

Minister Kim explained, "In Europe, average wage levels are disclosed by occupation, making it relatively easy for job seekers to make informed decisions," adding, "we need to establish similar standards."

The core of the government's proposed direction is 'equal pay for work of equal value.' The intent is to reduce wage gaps among workers doing similar jobs and enable job seekers to make employment choices based on reasonable standards.

Will This Actually Help Young Job Seekers?

If industry-level wage information is provided, the information asymmetry problem for young job seekers is expected to be partially resolved. Until now, it was not uncommon to only confirm wage levels after joining a company.

However, to ensure effectiveness, the granularity of industry classification and the frequency of information updates will be key factors. This is because even within the same industry, there are significant wage differences depending on company size, region, and job function.

While the labor sector welcomes this discussion, they emphasize that institutional support is necessary to ensure that standard wage information doesn't merely serve as reference material.