Provided are a core electric wire for multi-core cable that is superior in flex resistance at low temperature, and a multi-core cable employing the same. A core electric wire for multi-core cable according to an aspect of the present invention comprises a conductor obtained by twisting element wires, and an insulating layer that covers an outer periphery of the conductor, in which, in a transverse cross section of the conductor, a percentage of an area occupied by void regions among the element wires is from 5% to 20%. An average area of the conductor in the transverse cross section is preferably from 1.0 mm2 to 3.0 mm2. An average diameter of the element wires in the conductor is preferably from 40 μm to 100 μm, and the number of the element wires is preferably from 196 to 2,450. The conductor is preferably obtained by twisting stranded element wires obtained by twisting subsets of element wires. The insulating layer preferably comprises as a principal component a copolymer of ethylene and an α-olefin having a carbonyl group.