hankyoreh

The starting salary for a university graduate at a mid-sized company listed on the Korean stock market is 24.63 million won (US$26,000) a year.

The figure reflected the average starting salary at 142 mid-sized companies, according to a survey conducted by a job-related Internet portal Incruit and Open Salary, job listing Web sites.

Of the 142 listed mid-sized companies, 18.3 percent answered that their starting salary for a university graduate was more than 30 million won. A majority of 47.9 percent said their starting salary was more than 25 million won. About 38.7 percent said their starting salary was between 20 million won and 25 million won.

According to this data, nine out of 10 mid-sized listed companies pay more than 20 million won to their employees fresh out of university.

By industrial sector, the construction industry topped the wage list, with 28.37 million won the starting salary for a university graduate. The retail and food industry was at the bottom of the list, with 21.54 million won granted to new graduates. Industries such as pharmaceuticals (28.26 million won), petrochemicals (27.82 million won), and banking (27.44 million won) were also above average. On the flip side of the average, the starting salary in shipbuilding, heavy machinery, and the machinery and steel industries was 24.21 million won, followed by the auto industry’s 22.15 million won and the electronics industry’s 21.9 million won.

The average gap in salary for a university graduate at a mid-sized company ranged from 3.5 to 4 million won. Among the surveyed companies, the starting salary at a company with between 301 and 1,000 employees was 26.76 million won. The starting salary of a company with less than 300 workers was 22.68 million won, while that of a company with more than 1,000 workers was 30.33 million won.

Lee Kwang-seok, president of Incruit, said, "The survey shows that there are many mid-sized companies that match big companies in terms of salary and other working conditions. It is a shortcut for a jobseeker find a mid-sized company with which he or she could grown in tandem."

[englishhani@hani.co.kr]