Graduate Starting Salary Hits W3 Million a Month at Big Firms

The average annual starting salary for college graduates at large conglomerates hit the W3-million mark for the first time this year, despite a recent slowdown in the growth of their earnings.

According to a survey of 562 domestic firms by the Korea Employers Federation on Sunday, staff salaries rose an average 4 percent this year, 1.1 percentage percent lower than last year's increase.

It was the slowest mark-up since 2009, when the economy was reeling in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

The average pay rise rate for 2009 stood at 1.4 percent but hovered around 5 percent until last year.

The average starting salary for college graduates this year was W2.66 million a month. The figure for big conglomerates with over 1,000 employees slightly exceeded W3 million, while small and medium-sized firms with less than 300 workers paid W2.34 million.