Yonhap News
The average monthly salary of full-time employees at large electronic component manufacturers, centered on semiconductors, approached 10 million won last year, raising the prospect that monthly pay could surpass that threshold for the first time this year amid an industry recovery and expanded performance bonuses.
According to the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) on Wednesday, the average monthly wage per full-time employee at workplaces with 300 or more workers in the “electronic components, computers, video, audio and communication equipment manufacturing” sector totaled 9,418,797 won last year, including regular, overtime and special payments. The figure represents a 13.0% increase from the previous year.
The growth rate was nearly double the average wage increase of 6.9% across all manufacturing sectors with 300 or more employees during the same period. By detailed industry, it ranked second only to water transportation (23.0%).
The sector also placed near the top in terms of wage levels. It came fifth, following coke and refined petroleum products manufacturing (10,881,379 won), postal and telecommunications services (10,320,743 won), financial and insurance-related services (10,027,224 won), and water transportation (9,504,067 won).
The average monthly wage in electronic component manufacturing rose from 6,924,922 won in 2020 to 8,839,559 won in 2023, before declining to 8,336,818 won in 2024 and returning to growth last year. The rebound is attributed to expanded performance bonuses as semiconductor companies’ earnings recovered amid the artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom. Wage increases at major firms such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix were particularly pronounced.
According to Samsung Electronics’ 2025 business report disclosed in March, the average employee salary reached a record high of 158 million won. That was up 21.5% from 130 million won the previous year. SK hynix’s average employee salary also hit a record high at 185 million won, up 58.1% from 117 million won a year earlier.
The outlook for this year is also bright. With the semiconductor super cycle continuing, an increase of just 6.2% from last year would push the average monthly wage above 10 million won. The average wage in electronic component manufacturing was 25,625,027 won in January and 25,053,036 won in February, marking two consecutive months in the 25 million won range. While monthly figures vary due to shifts in the timing of Lunar New Year bonuses, the high level maintained in January, excluding the holiday effect, is interpreted as reflecting large-scale performance bonuses tied to the semiconductor industry’s recovery. However, this year’s monthly statistics apply a revised industrial classification standard, limiting direct comparison with the previous year.