500대 기업 ‘상반기 급여’ 평균 5500만원…증시 호황에 증권사는 1억원 넘어

This year, the average monthly salary for employees in South Korea's major large companies reached an average of 55 million won over a six-month period. The financial sector experienced a surge in performance bonuses and stock-related income, leading to an average of 10 million won for each individual over a six-month span. According to CEO Score, an analysis of 345 companies among the top 500 companies in terms of revenue last year, the average monthly salary for employees in these companies for the first half of this year amounted to 54.99 million won, a 7.1% increase from the previous half-year.

When converted to an annual salary, this indicates that the average salary for employees in major Korean companies exceeds 1 million won.

However, the typical salary during the first half of the year includes performance bonuses paid by companies based on their performance from the previous year, which may result in a discrepancy with the actual annual salary. Among the salary ranges, 43.5% (150 companies) had an average monthly salary between 40 million and 60 million won.

The next range, 200 million to 400 million won, accounted for 24.9%, followed by 600 million to 800 million won (18.6%), and 800 million to 1 billion won (6.7%). Only 20 companies paid their employees an average of more than 1 billion won in six months, with Hana Financial Group leading at 1.84 billion won. The other top payers included Mercantile Securities (1.65 billion won), Korea Trust Securities (1.62 billion won), Yan Tai Securities (1.49 billion won), Eski (SK) Highways (1.44 billion won), Daumae Green Food (1.39 billion won), Future Assets (1.36 billion won), and others.

Among these, 60% (12 companies) were financial institutions. According to CEO Score's Chief Researcher Kim Sung-chun, the strong performance of the Kospi (stock market index) since the second half of last year, coupled with a significant increase in trading volume, has had a substantial impact on the companies' earnings. The surge in the Korean stock market has driven up earnings for financial sector companies, resulting in substantial bonuses for their employees.