Regular workers earn 3/4 as much as foreign counterparts

Full-time Korean employees earned only 75 percent of what their counterparts in advanced economies raked in last year, a report showed yesterday.

The average wage for Koreans in regular employment reached $33,221 in 2010 in terms of purchasing power, compared to $43,933 in other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, according to the Employment Outlook 2011 report by the 34-member organization. Korea ranked 19th out of 28 countries tallied, with the median wage at 75.6 percent of the OECD average, it showed. The United States topped the list with $52,607, followed by Luxembourg with $52,110, according to the report.

Korea’s nominal income also came in lower compared to advanced economies at $26,538, the 22nd-highest among the tallied countries, according to the report.

Experts said the gap between Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, and other developed economies is unlikely to narrow in the near future due to the country’s slowing income growth. Annual income growth stood at 1.5 percent between 2005 and 2010, lagging behind 2.4 percent in Norway and 2.3 percent in Ireland, the report showed.