[Graphic News] Korea’s average salary ranks 19th among OECD members

South Korean workers’ average yearly salary has surpassed 90 percent of the OECD average, according to a recent report. The country’s salary has also consistently exceeded that of Japan for the past decade.

The report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reveals that the average annual salary for South Korean workers in 2022 was $48,922, which is 91.6 percent of the OECD average. This marks significant growth since 1992, when the ratio was just 63.8 percent. The first time the Korea-OECD salary ratio exceeded 90 percent was in 2020, at 90.4 percent.

South Korea’s average salary, now nearing $50,000, has steadily closed the gap with the OECD average, ranking 19th among OECD countries in 2022. Additionally, South Korea’s salary was 1.2 times larger than Japan’s in the same year.

Icelandic workers received the highest yearly salary, amounting to $79,473, followed by Luxembourg ($78,310), the US ($77,463), Switzerland ($72,993) and Belgium ($64,848).