70% of Korean employers to give thanksgiving bonus

Reflecting the sluggish domestic economy, the number of companies that plan to pay out bonuses for Chuseok decreased slightly from last year, data showed Sunday.

According to a survey conducted by the Korea Employers Federation on 527 companies, 73.2 percent of the companies with more than 300 employees and 69.4 percent of the companies with less than 300 employees said they would give bonuses in the upcoming holiday season. This marked an overall average of 70.2 percent, down 1.9 percentage points from last year.

The average amount stood at 1.05 million won ($889), up 32,000 won from a year earlier. While the companies with more than 300 employees are slated to give 1.54 million won, a rise of 67,000 won from last year, smaller firms with less than 300 employees plan to give 912,000 won, a rise of 19,000 won.

“The increase of bonus this year stemmed from the rise in base pay, which includes the regular bonus,” said the Korea Employers Federation.

In terms of the number of holiday days, the respondents said their companies plan to have 4.7 days on average, a drop of 3.5 days from last year.

The companies with more than 300 employees will have 4.9 days of holiday, while the companies with less than 300 employees will have 4.7 days on average.

The reduction of holiday days this year is due to the extra-long holiday last year, which was called “golden week” with 8.2 days on average.

Regarding whether the Korean economy has entered into recession, 94 percent of the respondents said the nation had entered recession. By company size, 88.9 percent of the companies with more than 300 employees and 95.9 percent of the companies with less than 300 employees shared the view that the nation had entered an economic downturn.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)