Basic Salary Gap of 6.46 Million Won and Fourfold Difference in Maternity Incentives... Standardizing Employee Treatment Key to Power Generation Merger

East-West Power Offers Highest Average Base Salary
Education Benefits and Welfare Points Vary Widely
Union: "Standardizing Upward Is Key to Successful Integration"

With the government's decision to integrate the five power generation companies into a single entity tentatively named "Korea Power Generation," the key issue emerging as a "chemical union" is the standardization of employee compensation, including salaries and welfare. The five companies have operated individually for more than 25 years, resulting in an average basic salary gap of nearly 6.5 million won per year among employees, while childbirth incentives range from 1 million won to 4 million won.

According to an analysis by The Asia Business Daily of each company's quarterly reports on September 7, the highest average basic salary for regular employees in 2025 was at Korea East-West Power, at 63.59 million won. Korea Southern Power had the lowest basic salary, at 57.13 million won. The difference in basic salary between these two companies reached 6.46 million won. The disparities in working conditions are not limited to basic salary. Including bonuses based on each company's management performance evaluation, the difference in the average annual total compensation per employee reaches 4.38 million won. Korea Midland Power’s average annual compensation last year was 102.33 million won, compared to only 97.95 million won at Korea Western Power. The starting salaries for new employees also vary. Among the five power companies, Korea Western Power paid the highest starting salary last year at 49.81 million won, while Korea Southern Power offered 44.88 million won, which is 4.93 million won less than Korea Western Power.

The size of each company’s internal employee welfare fund, which is created independently to support welfare expenses, varies significantly. As of the end of last year, Korea Southern Power’s internal welfare fund had a balance of 53.41878 billion won, whereas Korea Midland Power’s was only 37.05984 billion won. This marks a gap of 16.36894 billion won in available welfare funds between the two companies. As a result of these differing fund sizes, the level of welfare benefits offered by each company also varies widely. For college tuition support, Korea Southern Power and Korea South-East Power both provide 2.5 million won per semester for the children of regular employees, while Korea East-West Power only offers 1 million won, and Korea Midland Power pays up to 1.25 million won depending on grades. Korea Western Power restricts tuition support to children of employees working overseas, providing no college tuition support for the children of employees working domestically.

Childbirth incentives also show significant discrepancies, ranging from 1 million won to 4 million won, a fourfold difference. Korea South-East Power provides 1 million won for each childbirth, Korea East-West Power provides 3 million won, and both Korea Southern Power and Korea Western Power offer 4 million won per childbirth. Korea Midland Power pays 1 million won for the first child, 2 million won for the second, and 3 million won for the third or subsequent children.

Welfare points given under selective welfare programs also differ among companies. Korea Western Power distributes 900,000 won per year in welfare points to employees, funded by its internal welfare account. Korea Southern Power and Korea South-East Power each offer 800,000 won, Korea East-West Power pays 700,000 won, and Korea Midland Power only provides 500,000 won, which is 400,000 won less than Korea Western Power. The commemorative gift limit for retiring employees also varies: Korea Southern Power, Korea East-West Power, and Korea Western Power provide up to 700,000 won in commemorative gifts to prospective retirees, Korea South-East Power sets the limit at 800,000 won, while Korea Midland Power does not provide commemorative gifts at all.

A union representative from one of the power companies commented, "It is positive that discussions toward integration have finally begun, but it is regrettable that the focus is only on functional efficiency. Employees from each company are calling for standardization upward, and how much these disparities can be narrowed during the actual negotiation process will be key to achieving a successful integration."

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