Unchanged Despite Recession... Lawmakers with Annual Salary of 160 Million Won Receive Money as Seol Tteok Gift

Lunar New Year Bonus of 4.25 Million Won for National Assembly Members
More Companies Unable to Pay Holiday Bonuses Due to Economic Downturn
Criticism Grows Over Lawmakers' Bonuses Being Out of Touch with Public Sentiment

While ordinary citizens endure a cold Lunar New Year, it has been reported that members of the National Assembly receive 4.25 million won as a Lunar New Year bonus.

On the 29th, the last day of the 21st National Assembly's term, a banner congratulating the opening of the 22nd National Assembly is hung in the main building of the National Assembly. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

According to political circles on the 27th, the total holiday bonus allowance for this year is 8.5 million won, which is divided into two payments of 4.25 million won each for Lunar New Year and Chuseok. This amount is calculated based on Article 18-3 of the Civil Servant Allowance Regulations, which stipulates payment of 60% of the monthly salary. The annual salary of National Assembly members was frozen at 156.9 million won this year, so the holiday bonus remained the same as last year.

In addition to the holiday bonus, according to the "Overview of Major Countries' Parliamentary Positions" released by the National Assembly Library in October last year, National Assembly members receive an average annual income of 156.9 million won from allowances and bonuses paid monthly on the 20th. The allowances, which include management duty allowances and meal expenses, amount to 7.86 million won per month. In addition, legislative activity expenses of 3.14 million won and special activity expenses of 780,000 won (subject to reduction if absent from the National Assembly) are added. Furthermore, a seniority allowance of 7.08 million won is paid annually in two halves in January and July. The monthly allowance for National Assembly members was about 12.5 million won in 2018 but has steadily increased to the current level.

Compared to the reality where an increasing number of companies are unable to pay bonuses due to the recent economic downturn, the holiday bonuses of National Assembly members have drawn criticism for being out of touch with public sentiment. A recent survey conducted by Saramin targeting 1,194 companies found that only 55.7% pay Lunar New Year bonuses. The average bonus per person in companies that do pay bonuses was 780,000 won. This means that the National Assembly members' Lunar New Year "bribe money" exceeds the average of ordinary citizens by more than five times.

Companies that do not pay bonuses cited reasons such as "crisis management situation" (29.7%, multiple responses allowed) and "poor financial condition with no capacity to pay" (27.6%). Notably, among companies that paid bonuses last year, 17.8% reported they would not be able to pay this year.

Meanwhile, according to the bonus income reporting status received by Park Seong-hoon, a member of the People Power Party on the National Assembly Planning and Finance Committee, from the National Tax Service, a total of 9,878,416 workers reported bonuses for the 2023 tax year. Among them, the top 0.1% received bonuses totaling 626.98 million won. Additionally, the average bonus for the top 1% was 158.11 million won, and the top 10% received an average of 54.69 million won. Park said, "Although bonuses for high-income earners have sharply declined due to companies experiencing poor performance amid the economic recession, 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," he urged.