Income Distribution

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Data on income distribution, which serves as a foundation for income-led growth, has been released for the first time. Although the average monthly salary of working people has surpassed three million won, men have been found to earn nearly twice as much as women.

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The average monthly salary of workers in Korea before taxes has been found to be 3.29 million won. This is based on an analysis of 15 million jobs conducted by Statistics Korea as of 2015. The average monthly salary of male workers stood at 3.9 million won, nearly double the average salary of female workers, which came in at 2.36 million won. This is because there are more men among high-income earners and more women among low-income earners. Men who earn more than 6.5 million won a month accounted for 12.3 percent of all workers, while only three percent of women earned that much. By age, the highest-earning workers were people in their 50s, who receive 3.86 million won a month on average. Workers who are under 29 years of age earned 2.15 million won a month, less than those in their 60s. The average wages of elderly workers came in relatively higher because a large number of seniors were high-income earners. By industry, finance and insurance were found to be the highest-paying. The average monthly salary of workers in the finance and insurance sectors stood at 5.78 million won, more than three times as much as in the lodging and dining sectors, where workers receive 1.73 million won a month on average. The wage gap between large conglomerates and small firms grew to two million won. It's the first time that data on workers' income distribution based on employment statistics was disclosed in the nation. Statistics Korea plans to release more accurate information after collecting data on the incomes of daily workers and the self-employed, who were not included this time.