'The 0.1% Who Got the "Dream 600 Million Bonus"... Is the Average Bonus for Office Workers Really "10 Million Won"?'

Status of Labor Income Bonus Reporting
2023 Bonuses Decreased Compared to the Previous Year

An analysis revealed that the average bonus for office workers in South Korea exceeds 10 million KRW. In particular, the top 0.1% received bonuses exceeding 600 million KRW, highlighting polarization even in bonus payments.

An analysis revealed that the average bonus for office workers in our country exceeds 10 million won.

On the 26th, Park Seong-hoon, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the People Power Party, obtained the 'Labor Income Bonus Reporting Status' from the National Tax Service. According to the data, 9,878,416 workers reported bonuses for the year 2023, receiving an average bonus of 10.69 million KRW. The average bonus in 2023 decreased compared to previous years. It increased from 10.73 million KRW in 2021 to 11.13 million KRW in 2022, then declined again.

The average bonus for workers in the top 0.1% by amount received was 626.98 million KRW. When arranged in descending order of bonus amounts, this is 144.1 times the median bonus (4.35 million KRW) received by the median worker.

By region, the top 0.1% received the highest bonuses in Seoul, averaging 997.55 million KRW. This was followed by Gyeonggi region (614.42 million KRW), Busan (407.58 million KRW), Incheon (356.18 million KRW), and Gyeongbuk (341.88 million KRW). Gangwon and Sejong recorded 137.20 million KRW and 162.82 million KRW, respectively.

The average bonus for the top 1%, representing 1 out of 100 workers, was 158.11 million KRW. The top 10% received an average of 54.69 million KRW. The top 20% received 19.57 million KRW, while the bottom 20% received 550,000 KRW.

Representative Park said, "Although bonuses for high-income earners have sharply declined due to companies experiencing poor performance amid the economic downturn, polarization remains severe. It is urgent to resolve polarization through reforms in the rigid labor market structure, improvement of non-regular workers' treatment, and labor and industrial structural reforms."

Average Lunar New Year Bonus is 780,000 KRW

Meanwhile, on the 21st, Career platform Saramin conducted a survey from the 9th to the 14th targeting 1,194 companies regarding their Lunar New Year bonus payment plans. The results showed that 55.7% of companies planned to pay bonuses.

The average bonus per person among these companies was 780,000 KRW. By company size, companies with 300 or more employees paid the highest amount at 1.38 million KRW. This was followed by companies with 100 to fewer than 300 employees at 840,000 KRW, and companies with fewer than 100 employees at 740,000 KRW.