Average Monthly Wage Reaches 4.32 Million Won... Semiconductor Special Bonuses Lead the Increase

Korea Employers Federation's "Analysis of Wage Increases by Company Size and Industry in the First Half"

"Semiconductor Mirage?"... Excluding Special Bonuses, Wage Increase Rate is 2.2%

As wages for semiconductor workers increased, the average monthly wage of full-time employees also rose in the first half of this year.

According to the “Analysis of Wage Increases by Company Size and Industry in the First Half,” released by the Korea Employers Federation on the 20th, the average monthly wage per full-time employee was 4,318,000 won, up 3.1%, or about 131,000 won, from the same period last year. This increase rate was 0.4 percentage points lower than the 3.5% recorded in the same period a year earlier.

Yonhap News

The increase rate for fixed wages, such as base salary, fell from 2.9% in the first half of last year to 2.2% this year, while the increase rate for special bonuses, such as performance incentives, rose from 8.1% to 9.3%.

Of the total increase, 42,000 won resulted from the rise in special bonuses in the “electronics and telecommunications industry,” which includes semiconductor manufacturing—accounting for 32.4% of the overall increase.

By company size, the wage increase rate for companies with 300 or more employees was 4.8%, and for companies with fewer than 300 employees it was 2.1%. Both rates were lower than the previous year’s first-half rates of 5.7% and 2.7%, respectively.

For companies with 300 or more employees, the increase rate for special bonuses rose from 12.8% last year to 14.7% this year, while the increase rate for fixed wages fell from 3.4% to 1.4%. For companies with fewer than 300 employees, both fixed wages (2.6%→2.2%) and special bonuses (3.0%→0.6%) saw lower increase rates.

Of the 17 industries surveyed, 11 experienced a lower average monthly wage increase rate compared to the same period last year, while 6 saw a higher increase rate.

The manufacturing sector’s wage increase rate rose from 4.8% in the first half of last year to 5.9% this year, and in the professional, scientific, and technical services sector, it climbed from 2.7% to 5.7%.

The average monthly wage in the “electronics and telecommunications industry,” which includes semiconductor manufacturing, reached 9,434,000 won in the first half of this year, up 23.1% from a year earlier. In comparison, the average for all other industries was 4,187,000 won, marking a 2.2% increase.

The increase rate for special bonuses in the “electronics and telecommunications industry” was 66.0%, far exceeding the 1.8% recorded by all other industries, but the increase rate for fixed wages was 1.4%, lower than the 2.2% posted by other sectors.

Ha Sangwoo, Executive Director at the Korea Employers Federation, emphasized, “The special bonus increases in the electronics and telecommunications industry, driven by improved semiconductor performance, have had a significant impact on the overall rise in wages.” He continued, “When determining bonus payments, companies should consider future investment and long-term competitiveness, and ensure fair distribution based on both organizational and individual performance and contributions.”

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