Half-Year Salary Hits 184 Million Won—Not Samsung or SK hynix: Which Company Tops Pay Rankings?

Average Salary at Major Conglomerates Reaches 54.99 Million Won in the First Half
20 Companies Exceed 100 Million Won; 12 Are Securities Firms

In the first half of this year, the average compensation for executives and employees at major domestic conglomerates approached 55 million won, with the financial and securities sectors dominating the upper ranks and overtaking IT and semiconductor companies, which are typically known for high salaries. This trend is attributed to the performance-based compensation systems in the financial sector as well as recent improvements in business results.

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Average Salary at Large Corporations Nears 55 Million Won

On September 2, CEO Score, a corporate data research institute, analyzed 345 companies from Korea’s top 500 whose half-year results for 2025 and 2026 could be compared. The findings showed that the average salary per employee in the first half of this year stood at 54.99 million won. This marks an increase of 3.63 million won or 7.1% from 51.36 million won during the same period last year.

By salary range, 150 companies (43.5% of the total) were in the 40 million to 60 million won range, making it the most common band. Next were 86 companies (24.9%) in the 20 million to 40 million won range; 64 companies (18.6%) in the 60 million to 80 million won range; and 23 companies (6.7%) in the 80 million to 100 million won range. There were also 20 companies (5.8%) where the average salary surpassed 100 million won, while just 2 companies (0.6%) had an average below 20 million won.

By company, Korea Financial Holdings recorded the highest figure at 184 million won. This is an increase of 22 million won, or 13.6%, from 162 million won in the first half of last year. Meritz Securities followed with 165.21 million won, Korea Investment & Securities with 162 million won, and Yuanta Securities with 149 million won. SK hynix came in fifth at 144 million won, with Dunamu at 139.75 million won, Mirae Asset Securities at 136 million won, Meritz Financial Group at 130 million won, Hana Securities at 124 million won, and NH Investment & Securities at 123 million won rounding out the top ten.

Sixty Percent of Companies with Salaries Above 100 Million Won Are Securities Firms

Among the 20 companies whose average salary exceeded 100 million won in the first half of the year, 12 were securities firms, accounting for 60% of the total. Excluding financial companies, only three non-financial firms—SK hynix, Dunamu, and Doosan—were on the list.

The high pay at securities firms is seen as related to the sector’s compensation structure, with a large proportion coming from performance-based bonuses. Because bonuses are often paid at the beginning of the year and reflected in the figures, average salaries in the first half tend to be higher.

The financial sector’s strength was also clear when broken down by industry. Holding companies in finance posted the highest per capita average at 113.88 million won, a 5.2% rise from 108.25 million won in the first half of last year. The securities sector also broke the 100 million won barrier at 107.1 million won.

Other sectors included telecommunications at 69.67 million won, banking at 67 million won, credit and other financial services at 64.06 million won, insurance at 61.94 million won, service industries at 58.83 million won, shipbuilding, machinery, and equipment at 57.51 million won, trading companies at 55.72 million won, and petrochemicals at 53.83 million won, in descending order.

Conversely, the company with the lowest average salary per employee was E-Land World at 17 million won. This was followed by CJ Freshway at 19 million won, Hyundai Green Food at 20.32 million won, L&F and Hanwha Hotels & Resorts at 23 million won each, and Dawdata, Ottogi, Emart, Kolon Global, and Harim at 26 million won each.

Salary Increases Also Concentrated in the Financial Sector

Increases in average salary per employee compared to last year were also dominated by financial firms. Yuanta Securities saw the largest increase, up 73 million won compared to last year, followed by Hana Securities up 42 million won, Mirae Asset Securities up 36 million won, Doosan up 34 million won, and Meritz Securities up 33.82 million won.

On the other hand, APR saw the largest decrease, with average pay falling 32 million won compared to a year earlier. This was attributed to a base effect from last year when stock option exercise gains were reflected in half-year earnings. Kyobo Life Insurance decreased by 15 million won, Meritz Financial Group by 14 million won, Dunamu by 12.94 million won, and CS Wind by 11 million won.

Ultimately, the trend in compensation at large corporations during the first half of this year showed significant gaps depending on industry, company performance, and the method of bonus payouts. The financial and securities sectors’ dominance at the top is seen as the result of recent improvements in the financial industry’s business performance reflecting, at least in part, in employee compensation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.