Minimum wage hike will burden South Korean Companies: Ambassador

Batam, Riau Islands, Dec 27 (ANTARA) - South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Kim Young Sun has stated that minimum wage increase by more than 50 percent in many cities will be a burden for South Korean businesses in Indonesia.

"The presence of South Korean companies in Indonesia concerns the welfare of Indonesian labors. However, such a high minimum wage increase will harm  businesses, especially the increase by more than 50 percent," Kim said here on Thursday.

He also said a minimum wage increase by less than 50 percent will not be a problem for South Korean companies since wages offered by Korean companies  are above the provincial minimum wage set by local governments.

During his visit in Batam, Kim had a meeting with about 30 South Korean businessmen.

"In general, they don't mind about the minimum wage increase as long as it is not more than 50 percent," he said.

"Besides, the amount of wages given by our companies has been above the set minimum wage," the Ambassador continued.

He added that South Korean businessmen are very interested in making new investments in the free trade area of  Batam and have planned to invest in various fields.

Kim also has stated that Korea intends to fund the construction of bridge that will connect two free trade area, Batam Island and Bintan Island.

"The existence of this bridge is important for economic development of the two free trade areas, Batam and Bintan. Therefore, Korea will pay great attention to the construction of the bridge," Kim said after a meeting with the Head of Batam Concession, Mustofa Widjaja.

However, the Ambassador further said, there has not been a discussion regarding the amount of money that will be spent to fund the bridge construction.

Kim noted, in early 2013, Korea will bring in a team of pre-study to Indonesia to assess the feasibility of the Batam-Bintan bridge construction.

Meanwhile, Sub Director of Public Relations and Publications of Batam Concession, Ilham Eka Hartawan, said that Kim Young Sun and some South Korean businessmen have also discussed about the eco-friendly system of sewage disposal in Batam.

"There was an agreement for the 'Waste Water Treatment'. However, for the bridge construction, the Koreans still need to review the funding and the feasibility of the project," he explained. 

In a brief visit to Batam, the South Korean Ambassador was accompanied by Director of Korea International Cooperation Agency (Koica) Choi Sung Ho and Director of Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) Lee Woon Chang.(ANTARA)