Average Annual Salary at Public Institutions Approaches 70 Million Won... 20 Places Exceed 100 Million Won

Average Annual Salary of Employees at 370 Public Institutions Last Year Was 69.76 Million KRW
1st Place Is Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology... Average Salary 120.58 Million KRW

On the 12th, as early summer weather continues, office workers near Pangyo Venture Valley in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, are taking off their masks during lunchtime.
Seongnam - Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Last year, the average annual salary of public institution employees nearly reached 70 million KRW. Among public institutions, 20 organizations had an average annual salary exceeding 100 million KRW, receiving higher compensation than LG Energy Solution, the company ranked second in market capitalization.

According to Alio, the public institution management information disclosure system, based on the average compensation per regular full-time employee, the average annual salary of employees at 370 public institutions last year was 69.76 million KRW. Specifically, this includes a base salary of 50.3 million KRW, fixed allowances of 6.02 million KRW, performance allowances of 2.66 million KRW, salary-related welfare benefits of 860,000 KRW, and performance bonuses of 9.67 million KRW.

The institution with the highest average annual salary last year was Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), recording 120.58 million KRW per employee. Second was Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) with 115.95 million KRW, and third was Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) with 115.92 million KRW. Following were Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) with 113.77 million KRW, and Korea Development Bank with 113.7 million KRW.

Including these, a total of 20 public institutions had an average annual salary exceeding 100 million KRW. In 2017, only five institutions, including Korea Investment Corporation (111.03 million KRW), had an average salary above 100 million KRW, but this number has quadrupled in four years.

Looking at last year's salaries by gender, men earned 74.51 million KRW on average, while women earned 60.3 million KRW, with men earning 23.6% more.

The highest-paid male employees were at Korea Development Bank (129.41 million KRW), followed by Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (126.8 million KRW), Korea Investment Corporation (126.33 million KRW), Government Legal Affairs Corporation (122.3 million KRW), and Export-Import Bank of Korea (120.62 million KRW).

The highest-paid female employees were at Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (110.57 million KRW), the only institution where women earned over 100 million KRW. Next were Industrial Bank of Korea (99.12 million KRW), Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (95.63 million KRW), Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (94.05 million KRW), and Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (93.84 million KRW).

On the first day of outdoor mask restrictions being lifted, on the 2nd, office workers near Pangyo Venture Town in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, are heading to work wearing masks.
Seongnam - Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The salaries at public institutions were found to be higher than those at large corporations and more than double those at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

According to the '2020 Wage Worker Job Income (Compensation) Results' released by Statistics Korea in February, the average monthly income of employees at large corporations and SMEs was 5.29 million KRW and 2.59 million KRW, respectively, which translates to annual amounts of 63.48 million KRW and 31.08 million KRW. Compared to the average annual salary of 68.74 million KRW at 370 public institutions in 2020, public institution salaries were 8.3% higher than those at large corporations and 2.2 times higher than those at SMEs.

Comparing last year's highest salary institution, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, with the top 10 companies by market capitalization, it ranks around fourth place, indicating a relatively high salary even compared to major large corporations.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, among the top 10 large corporations by market capitalization, only three companies?Kakao (172 million KRW), Samsung Electronics (144 million KRW), and Naver (129.15 million KRW)?have higher salaries than Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology.

The remaining seven companies?SK Hynix (115.2 million KRW), Samsung SDI (110 million KRW), LG Chem (103 million KRW), Kia (101 million KRW), Hyundai Motor Company (96 million KRW), LG Energy Solution (90 million KRW), and Samsung Biologics (79 million KRW)?have average salaries lower than Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology.