Income Gap for Salaried Workers Widens

Chosun Ilbo, 1 April 2003

The income gap between workers with different educational backgrounds has become more polarized due to an upsurge in the number of high-income earners, following the expansion of knowledge-based industries.

According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Monday, between 2001 and 2002, the earnings growth rate for urban salaried workers with a college diploma outran that for those who only graduated from high school.

The NSO said that the monthly income for college-graduated workers in 2001 grew by 11.9 percent, much higher than the 7.3 percent earnings growth for high school-graduated employees. In 2002, the formers’ salary rose by 6.8 percent against 4.9 percent for the latter echelon.

A high-ranking official at the Ministry of Finance and Economy said that the ministry is drafting measures to rein in the polarizing of income levels for workers of different education levels.