By Choi Sung-jin





Rep. Sim Sang-jeung

Rep. Sim Sang-jeung of the Justice Party proposed a bill Tuesday that calls for limiting corporate executives' pay.

The so-called fat cat law has set the highest wage at 30 times the minimum and bans business corporations from paying in excess of it, Rep. Shim said.

This year's minimum wage is 6,030 won ($5.16) an hour. If a person works eight hours a day, five days a week, his or her monthly salary is 1.26 million won, including a weekly allowance, and 15.12 million annually. That means the highest executive salary should not exceed 453.69 million won ($388,760) a year.

The bill also calls for levies and penalties on corporations and individuals that violate it, creating a social solidarity fund and using the money to help minimum-wage workers, low-income people and non-regular laborers.

In a news conference, Rep. Sim said: "Nearly 11 million workers are earning less than 2 million won a month. In this reality, the highest-wage law is aimed to ensure balanced growth of the national economy, maintain reasonable distribution of income and prevent the abuse of economic power, as stipulated by Article 119 of the Constitution."

The former head of the splinter party said she would also try to revise laws and regulations to restrict the salaries of ranking public officials, including lawmakers, not to exceed five times the minimum wage and limit those of state enterprise executives to 10 times the minimum.

"In 2014, the salaries of the executives of the 78 listed companies affiliated with the 10 largest conglomerates were 35 times of their employees, and 180 times the legal minimum wage," Rep. Sim said. "In most OECD nations, the wage gap between the top 10 percent and bottom 10 percent is five to seven times, but that in Korea exceeds 11 times."

"Fat cat" is a slang word to describe executives who earn what many believe to be unreasonably high salaries and bonuses.

On Facebook, Sim also said: "Removing the flesh of fat cats is the genuine pain-sharing. How can those people who don't even have belts to tighten share pain?"

Netizens agreed. "I throw my full support to the bill. Korea really needs it," one said. "The fat cats will try to find roundabout ways. Tighten the law so that they cannot slip through loopholes," another said.

Meanwhile, this year's minimum wage negotiations broke down earlier in the day because of a too wide a gap between management and labor. While labor wants it raised to 10,000 won, management wants it frozen at its present level.

Particularly, some negotiators representing management raised a stir on the Internet by claiming 1.03 million won ($882) is enough to meet the monthly living costs of an unmarried person.

An economist broke down the total: 300,000 won in home rent, 50,000 won in maintenance fees, 80,000 won in transportation costs, 240,000 won for food, 80,000 won for telephone bills and 100,000 won in taxes and other charges. "After excluding all these, one has 180,000 won in his or her hands, which is not enough for paying interest on student loans, let alone having a good time with friends or dating," he said.

Internet warriors were furious. "These fat cats must have the experience of living with 1.03 million won a month first before putting forth such an idea alienated from reality," one said. "President Park Geun-hye is also single. Will this be enough for her, too?" another said. "How can these executives tell young people to marry and have children while giving them a subsistence wage?" a third said.