Saramin Surveys 470 Companies on 'Chuseok Bonus Payment Plans'
47.7% of Companies Pay Bonuses...Average Amount is 666,000 Won
A survey revealed that the number of companies paying Chuseok bonuses this year hit an all-time low.
On the 9th, career platform 'Saramin' conducted a survey on 'Chuseok bonus payment plans' targeting 470 companies, and 47.7% of the companies responded that they would pay bonuses. This is the lowest figure since the survey began in 2012.
The most common reason for not paying Chuseok bonuses was 'replaced by gifts, etc.' (40.7%, multiple responses allowed). This was followed by 'no financial capacity to pay due to circumstances' (28.0%), 'no regulations for holiday bonuses' (24.0%), 'under crisis management' (17.5%), and 'failure to achieve first-half targets' (9.8%).
Additionally, 18.3% of companies not paying bonuses this year said they paid bonuses last year. Saramin analyzed, "It appears that many companies are substituting gifts, which are relatively less costly than bonuses," and "some companies seem to have given up on paying bonuses due to changes in business performance or operational strategies."
The average bonus amount among companies paying bonuses (224 companies) was 665,600 KRW. The most common reason for paying bonuses was 'to boost employee morale' (54.9%). This was followed by 'because it is stipulated as a regular bonus' (37.1%), 'to increase employees' loyalty to the company' (20.5%), and 'to reduce the financial burden of Chuseok' (10.7%). There were also responses such as 'due to good first-half performance' (4.5%) and 'because the business situation is not bad or is recovering' (3.1%).
Career platform 'Saramin' conducted a survey on 'Chuseok bonus payment plans' targeting 470 companies, and 47.7% of the responding companies answered that they would pay the bonus. [Photo by Saramin]
Regarding 'Chuseok gift payment plans,' 78.3% of respondent companies said they would provide gifts. The average gift cost was 81,000 KRW, which is significantly lower than the average bonus amount. Companies not providing gifts (102 companies) cited reasons such as 'need to reduce expenses due to poor conditions' (40.2%), 'because they are paying bonuses' (39.2%), and 'to convey a sense of crisis' (23.5%).
Meanwhile, the cost of setting up a Chuseok ancestral rite table this year was found to be higher than last year. Among 20 essential items, prices of fruits and Korean beef (Hanwoo) are cheaper than last year, but prices of early cabbage, napa cabbage, and radish are on the rise. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation on the 8th, the average cost of the Chuseok ancestral rite table this year was 209,494 KRW, 1.6% higher than last year. The survey was conducted on the 6th at 16 traditional markets and 34 large retail stores across 23 regions nationwide, investigating 24 items based on a family of four.
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