South Korea’s annual minimum wage levels in 2013 ranked 14th out of 25 OECD countries with $12,038, placing in the middle range, according to data released Wednesday.

Australia had the highest minimum wage with $30,839. France (No. 7, $22,788), U.K. (No. 9, $20,226), Japan (No. 10, $16,043), and the U.S. (No. 11, $15,080) were ahead of Korea, and Spain (No. 15, $11,995), Turkey (No. 18, $60,304) and Mexico (No. 25, $1,285) were behind.

Additionally, South Korea’s minimum wage in terms of purchasing power parity was $14,576, putting it 10th among OECD countries, ahead of than the U.S. (No. 11, $15,080) and Japan (No. 12, $15,034).

South Korea’s minimum wage this year is 5,580 won per hour, a 370 won (7.1 percent) increase from last year.

However, the labor sector said that comparing minimum wage levels with foreign countries was inappropriate, as there is an imbalance between corporate wages and household income in Korea and the current minimum wage cannot support the standard cost of living.

But the Korea Employers Federation argued that minimum wage has rapidly increased since 2000 and needs to be stabilized.