Heads of State Enterprises Earn More Than President

The average annual salaries of 15 state enterprises surpassed W100 million last year, and nine paid higher salaries than Hyundai, which achieved stellar profits (US$1=W1,313).

According to government information website Alio, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute paid the highest average salaries with W117.09 million, followed by Korea Investment Corporation with W115.72 million and Korea Development Bank with W112.89 million.

Next came Industrial Bank of Korea with W108.84 million, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (W107.37 million) and Export-Import Bank of Korea (W106.15 million).

For comparison, the average annual salary at Hyundai is W105 million and at Samsung Electronics W135 million.

The average wage of ordinary staff in state-run enterprises stood at W70.38 million last year, but executives earned W185 million. Some 300 out of 340 executives earned more than a Cabinet minister's W127.18 million, and 29 heads of state enterprises earned more than the president's W240.64 million.