Average Annual Wage Reaches W34.75 Million

The average annual wage of salaried workers in Korea last year stood at W34.75 million, up 2.2 percent from the previous year, while 440,000 people made six-figure sums (US$1=W1,131).

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To rank in the top 10 percent of the income bracket, a person would have to earn W67.5 million a year, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute, which analyzed Labor Ministry data on 15.2 million workers.

The median wage was W27.2 million.

Around three percent of workers or 440,000 made six-figure sums, up a whopping 10 percent from the previous year.

Some 3.4 percent earned between W80 million and W100 million a year, 7.1 percent between W60 million and W80 million, 15.4 percent W40-60 million, 40.2 percent W20-W40 million and an alarming 31 percent less than W20 million.

The wage gap between employees of big conglomerates and small and mid-sized companies remains vast. Regular employees at big conglomerates made W64.6 million a year on average, down 0.9 percent, while their counterparts at small and mid-sized companies earned just W39.95 million, up 2.9 percent.