[Exclusive] 114 Million... Top Female Annual Salary in Major Financial Sector is 'This Place' [K Population Strategy]

'Top Female Earner' in Finance: KDB Securities - Last Place DB Insurance
Average Female Salary at 36 Companies is 68% of Male Salary
2024 Asia Economy Gender Equality Comprehensive Score Analysis Results

Among 36 domestic financial companies, the so-called 'female salary king' with the highest average annual salary for female employees was Korea Investment & Securities, with an average of 114 million KRW. The financial company with the lowest female salary was DB Insurance, with a salary gap of more than 50 million KRW between the first and last place. Last year, the average annual salary for women in the financial sector was 94 million KRW, which was 68% of the male salary level.

On the 29th, Asia Economy analyzed the average annual salary of female employees at 36 major domestic financial companies (10 banks, 10 securities firms, 8 insurance companies, and 8 card companies). The company with the highest female salary last year was Korea Investment & Securities (114 million KRW). Although it decreased by 8.8% compared to the previous year, it increased by 34.1% since 2019 (85 million KRW). The average annual salary for male employees at Korea Investment & Securities last year was 157 million KRW. The average female salary was 72.6% of the male salary. The male salary at Korea Investment & Securities rose by 15.4% over the past five years.

The lowest female salary was at DB Insurance, at 63 million KRW. DB Insurance was one of two financial companies where the average female salary was less than half that of male employees. However, DB Insurance explained that "they hire automobile insurance telemarketing counselors, who receive pay based on sales performance, as employees rather than agents, and the scale of this is the largest in the non-life insurance industry," adding, "this creates an optical illusion that lowers the overall average female salary." The average male salary at DB Insurance last year was 132 million KRW.

By sector, securities firms had the highest average female salary. The average female salary at 10 securities firms was 104 million KRW. The formula 'securities man = salary over 100 million KRW' applies not only to men but also to women. The average female salary at the 10 securities firms first exceeded 100 million KRW in 2021, rose to 110 million KRW in 2022, and slightly decreased last year. Among the 36 financial companies analyzed, five securities firms were in the top 10, accounting for half.

Following securities firms, the average female salary was 93 million KRW at banks, 91 million KRW at card companies, and 85 million KRW at insurance companies. Although male employees at banks, card companies, and insurance companies have recorded salaries over 100 million KRW over the past five years since 2019, female employees have not surpassed the 100 million KRW mark. Among banks, KB Kookmin Bank had the highest average female salary at 106 million KRW. Samsung Card led the card companies with 112 million KRW, and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance led the insurance companies with 109 million KRW.

Last year, the average female salary at 36 financial companies was 94 million KRW. This was a 0.1% decrease from the previous year and represented 67.9% of the average male salary in the financial sector (140 million KRW) during the same period. Considering the government’s estimate that the hourly wage of female workers compared to male workers in Korea last year was 70%, the wage gap between men and women in the financial sector is interpreted as somewhat larger than the overall average.

However, the average female salary in the financial sector increased by 31.1% over the past five years, significantly outpacing the male increase rate of 19.9%. This means that the salaries of female employees in the financial sector are rising faster than those of male employees. As a result, the ratio of female to male salaries in the financial sector has gradually increased from 61.7% in 2019.

Among the 36 financial companies, 15 companies (42%) had an average female salary exceeding 100 million KRW. In contrast, all 36 companies had an average male salary exceeding 100 million KRW. Meritz Securities, which ranked first in male average salary, was the only financial company analyzed with an average male salary exceeding 200 million KRW, at 217 million KRW.

The average length of service significantly narrowed the gender gap compared to salaries. The average length of service for female employees in the financial sector last year was 94.5% of that of male employees. This figure increased by more than 12 percentage points over five years from 86.22% in 2019. Among the 36 financial companies, Kiwoom Securities had the highest female-to-male length of service ratio at 127.6%, while BC Card had the lowest at 48.7%. Fourteen of the 36 companies had female employees with longer average lengths of service than males.

The proportion of female regular employees among all employees was 48.1% last year, meaning women accounted for nearly half of the total workforce. The financial company with the highest female ratio was KB Kookmin Bank (55.9%), and the lowest was K Bank (37.5%).