[Exclusive] Top Female Average Salary Company '115 Million KRW', Lowest '29 Million KRW' [K Population Strategy]

Top 100 Companies by Sales 'Highest Average Female Salary King' S-Oil
Lowest CJ Freshway 29 Million Won... 86 Million Won Difference from 1st Place

Last year, among the top 100 domestic companies by sales, the so-called 'female salary king' with the highest average salary for female employees was S-Oil. The average salary of female employees in the top 100 companies by sales was about 70 million KRW, and the salary ratio of female to male employees exceeded 70%.

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On the 30th, Asia Economy analyzed the average salary of female employees in the top 100 companies by sales last year and found that the company with the highest average salary for female employees was S-Oil (115 million KRW), while the company with the lowest female salary was CJ Freshway (29 million KRW). The top and bottom companies in female salaries were the same in 2022. Based on male salaries, S-Oil was also the 'salary king' last year with 176 million KRW, and CJ Freshway had the lowest at 48 million KRW.

The average salary of female employees at S-Oil surpassed 100 million KRW for the first time in 2022 and has maintained the 100 million KRW level for two consecutive years. This is closely related to performance. Due to the impact of the Ukraine war and other factors, international oil prices and refining margins surged, leading the refining industry to achieve record-high performance in 2022, which significantly increased salaries, including for female employees. Compared to 2021, the average salary increase rate per employee at S-Oil exceeded 50%, and female employees' salaries increased by 49.35% during this period.

CJ Freshway, whose core business is group catering, consists of more than 90% female employees engaged in catering-related roles such as cooks and nutritionists. A CJ Freshway official explained, "Due to the nature of service jobs, the average length of service is short, and salaries inevitably differ from other top 100 companies that are mainly office jobs." In fact, the average length of service for female employees at CJ Freshway was 2.9 years last year, significantly below the top 100 companies' average of 9.3 years.

Average Female Salary in Top 100 Companies is 69.19 Million KRW... Only 7 Companies Exceed 100 Million KRW

The overall average salary for female employees in the top 100 companies by sales was 69.19 million KRW, a 4.83% increase from the previous year. The average salary for male employees was 99.13 million KRW, about 30 million KRW higher than females. The average salary increase rate for male employees was 2.20%.

Among the top 100 companies by sales, only seven companies (S-Oil, Naver, Samsung SDS, SK Hynix, SK Innovation, Samsung Electronics, SK Telecom) had female employees earning an average salary exceeding 100 million KRW. For male employees, about half of the surveyed companies, 49 companies, had average salaries exceeding 100 million KRW. This is attributed to the still high proportion of male executives (non-registered) and many male managers.

Samsung Electronics, the top domestic company by sales, recorded an average female employee salary of 97 million KRW last year. In the recent five years, it exceeded 100 million KRW in 2021 and 2022 but fell below 100 million KRW last year due to deteriorating performance. While the overall average salary per employee at Samsung Electronics decreased by 12.5% from 135 million KRW to 120 million KRW, female employees' salaries decreased by 11.82%.

The ratio of average female to male salaries increased from 68.67% in 2022 to 70.06% last year, surpassing the 70% mark. The salaries of female employees in the top 100 companies exceeded the domestic average for regular workers but appeared to fall short of the large company average. According to the '2023 Business Wage Increase Characteristics Analysis' report published by the Korea Employers Federation based on the Ministry of Employment and Labor's business labor force survey, the average annual salary for regular workers last year was 47.81 million KRW, and for companies with over 300 employees, it was 69.68 million KRW.

This year, among the top 100 companies by sales, the company with the highest female-to-male salary ratio was L&F, a secondary battery cathode active material manufacturer. L&F's female-to-male employee salary ratio was 110.53%, meaning female employees earned more than male employees. An L&F official explained, "Many new employees have joined the male-dominated manufacturing technical positions, slightly lowering the average male salary, while most female employees are in office and research positions with considerable experience, resulting in higher average salaries."

Last year, the average length of service for female employees in the top 100 companies was 9.3 years, about one month longer than in 2022. However, it was 75.21% of the male employees' length of service, widening the gap from 75.79% in 2022. Among the top 100 companies, 12 companies had female employees with longer service than males. The proportion of female regular employees among all employees in the top 100 companies was 19.93% last year, down from 20.35% a year earlier.