The statutory deadline for fixing the 2014 minimum hourly wage has come and gone. True, it should not come as a surprise, as it is usually the case. What is worrisome, however, is that the chances are slim that the new minimum wage will be determined anytime soon.

Labor and management are far apart over the proper level of the minimum wage, dimming the prospects for an early resolution of their conflict. Those representing the public interest will have to propose a compromise if labor and management fail to strike a deal when their representatives meet next time.

When negotiations started on April 11, labor demanded a 21.6 percent increase, from 4,860 won this year to 5,910 won in 2014. The proposed amount was equivalent to 50 percent of the nation’s 2012 average wage ― the level recommended by the International Labor Organization. But few would have believed such a large increase in one fell swoop was feasible, be it based on the ILO recommendation or not.

For its part, management called for a freeze, saying that the minimum wage has grown twice as fast as inflation over the past 13 years. It was none of its concern that the minimum wage was at a mere 37 percent of the average wage last year, well below the ILO recommendation.

An upsurge may result in a decline in employment, as is claimed by management. But who could believe in the sincerity of management when it proposed to freeze the minimum wage? The proposal was beyond comprehension even if it was nothing but an opening move.

It was of no great help for management to propose a 50 won increase when its representatives sat down with their counterparts from labor and those representing the public interest on Thursday ― the day by which the three parties were required to fix the next year’s minimum wage. Labor also revised its proposal, cutting it by 120 won to 5,790 won.

With the two sides refusing to make any more concessions, there is little likelihood that they will strike an accord when they meet again on Thursday. If the gap is deemed irreducible, those representing the public interest will have to come up with their own proposal as a compromise and persuade the other two sides to accept it.

An accord may still appear impossible to come by. If labor and management continue to oppose the compromise proposal, there is no other option than to put it to a vote at a conference of nine representatives from each party. It has not been uncommon to make a decision in this manner.

If the process of fixing the minimum wage is flawed as such, it is time to review it for improvement. Annual negotiations will be made easier, if, for instance, the administration and the National Assembly set a long-term target of raising it to a certain level of the average wage.