Average Annual Salary Reaches W40 Million

The average annual salary in Korea rose above W40 million last year, while more than a million Koreans earn over W100 million (US$1=W1,322).

National Tax Service data released Wednesday show that 19.96 million salaried workers filed for year-end tax rebates last year, and total annual earnings subject to taxation reached W803.21 trillion.

That boils down to an average annual salary of W40.24 million, up 5.1 percent from a year earlier.

This is the first time that the average salary has surpassed W40 million. The average annual income after tax is W36 million or around W3 million a month.

The figure surpassed W30 million in 2013 and has been increasing every year.

At the top end, 1.12 million salaried workers earned more than W100 million, up a whopping 22.6 percent from just a year earlier and surpassing the million mark for the first time ever. In 2011, there were only 362,000 people earning a six-figure salary, but the number more than tripled rapidly.

An elite 17,000 made more than W500 million a year, up 24.9 percent on-year and 2.9 times compared to a decade ago.

Salaries were highest in Sejong administrative city at W47.2 million, followed by Seoul (W46.6 million), Ulsan (W44.8 million), Gyeonggi Province (W41.2 million) and South Chungcheong Province (W39.6 million). 

Sejong, which primarily consist of government ministries and offices of big business, beat industrial Ulsan in 2019 to the top of the wage pyramid. The lowest salaries were paid on Jeju Island (W34.2 million) after Gangwon Province (W35.2 million) and North Jeolla Province (W35.3 million).