In this study, I analyzed the effect of the rapid increase in the minimum wage in 2018 on employment using the recent Korean Welfare Panel Study. As a result, it was found that the sharp increase in the minimum wage in 2018 reduced the employment rate of those subject to the minimum wage by about 4.1 to 4.6 percentage points. It is also analyzed that about 27.4~30.5% of the unemployed ratio in the group subject to the minimum wage is due to the rapid increase in the minimum wage in 2018. As it has been shown that a sharp increase in the minimum wage has a negative effect on employment, it is necessary to refrain from rapid increase in the minimum wage in the future. If a minimum wage increase is inevitable, it is necessary to avoid a big increase and find ways to reduce the negative impact on the employment, for example, by gradually increasing the minimum wage, or applying differentiated level by industry to the minimum wage, and so on.

minimum wage, employment, year 2018, difference in differences(DID)