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At 171 or 56 percent of Korea's 305 state-run corporations, the average salary for non-executive employees is over W50 million a year (US$1=W1,007). At three such public corporations the average annual salary for non-executive employees exceeds W90 million, and at 30 or 10 percent of such firms the average tops W70 million. Meanwhile, as of the first half of this year, regular employees of private-sector companies (with more than five employees) are paid an average W31.94 million a year.
According to Ministry of Strategy and Finance data submitted to ruling Grand National Party lawmaker Koh Seung-duk on Thursday, employees at the Korea Securities Depository were paid an average W96.77 million last year. The depository spent nearly twice as much on wages (W43.1 billion) as on business expenses (W23.5 billion) in the year.
Employees of the Korea Development Bank, which is targeted for privatization, received an average W92.96 million in annual pay to rank second, followed by Koscom workers at W91.85 million. Next was KDB Capital (W89.17 million) at fourth and the Financial Supervisory Service (W87.84 million) at fifth. KDB was found to have used W91 million in business promotion expenses by the bank's governor last year.
Others rounding out the top 20 highest paying public firms were state-run banks and think tanks including the Industrial Bank of Korea, the Export-Import Bank of Korea, the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute.
Of the 20, six including ETRI ran a deficit last year and more than half (11) have posted a deficit in the past five years. ETRI recorded a W14.1 billion deficit while paying an average W83.72 million in employee salaries in 2007. Ranking 16th on the salary list at W77.20 million, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute hasn't been in the black once in five years.
In a National Assembly committee meeting on measures for public corporations, Rep. Koh said, "People feel the service level at public enterprises is lower than at private firms yet public workers are better paid. If the public enterprises refuse to revamp their management amid today's economic woes, the public will be enraged." Strategy and Finance Minister Kang Man-soo called the problem serious and said he will work to implement wage levels that correspond to corporate productivity.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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