Female workers in South Korea have identified the gender wage gap as the most significant form of workplace discrimination. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s gender wage gap at publicly listed companies grew wider last year, even as the gap in average tenure between men and women narrowed, according to new government data.
An analysis of 2,980 corporate annual reports for 2024, released Friday by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, showed that men earned an average of 97.8 million won ($71,600), compared with 67.7 million won ($49,600) for women. The 30.7 percent gap marked an increase of 4.4 percentage points from 2023, when the disparity stood at 26.3 percent.
Both men’s and women’s wages declined year-on-year, but women’s pay fell more sharply, down 6.7 percent compared with a 0.8 percent drop for men. The decline was most pronounced in industries with large workforces such as manufacturing, information technology, and finance, where wage disparities also widened.
In manufacturing, the gender pay gap surged from 20.0 percent in 2023 to 29.1 percent in 2024. In information technology, it rose from 30.3 to 34.6 percent, while finance and insurance climbed to 31.2 percent from 30.2 percent.
The widest gaps overall were found in wholesale and retail (44.1 percent), construction (41.6 percent), and information technology (34.6 percent). By contrast, the smallest disparities appeared in arts and sports (15.8 percent), hospitality (17.7 percent), and utilities (22.5 percent).
Average tenure at listed companies was 11.8 years for men and 9.4 years for women, a 20.9 percent difference, down from 23 percent a year earlier. Typically, narrower tenure gaps align with narrower wage gaps, but last year’s data showed the opposite trend, underscoring how factors such as rank, job type, and employment status weigh heavily on earnings.
The report also found that South Korea’s 344 public institutions fared better, with an average gender pay gap of 20.0 percent in 2024, down from 22.7 percent in 2023. Tenure disparities at public agencies also shrank significantly, from 29.0 to 19.9 percent.
The Gender Equality Ministry said it plans to refine future analyses by incorporating variables such as age, seniority, employment type, career interruptions, and job characteristics. It also reiterated its intent to introduce a “wage transparency disclosure system” requiring companies to publish pay data by gender in an effort to accelerate progress toward closing the gap.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
