Wage gap between high school and university grads in South Korea smaller in larger firms

The wage gap between university and high school graduates in South Korea are found to be smaller at large conglomerates, according to data released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, reports news agency The Korea Herald. 

As at June this year, South Korean university graduates who are employed in white-collar jobs at large firms are paid an average of 33 million won (US$29,744) in annual starting salary, according to government data.

Local firms employing over 500 staff pay 33.47 million won (US$30,168) on average to an employee with a bachelor’s degree or higher, who work in business administration or accounting for less than one year.

Under the same conditions, the average annual salary then rises to 86.51 million won (US$77,974) for staff employed in large firms who have been working for over a decade. 

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The detailed corporate salary data was disclosed on the government’s dedicated webpage, launched in February to address wage disparity in the private sector. 

The website displays salary brackets of private sector workers in six categories: corporation size, type of business, occupation, work experience, gender and academic background.