W4.24m Chuseok bonuses for lawmakers, but 40% of workers get none

Lawmakers in South Korea have each received a bonus of around 4.24 million won ($3,181) for the upcoming Chuseok holiday, while more than 40 percent of ordinary workers reported receiving no such bonus, igniting a debate about whether legislators deserve such privileges and benefits.

On Thursday, members of the National Assembly received their Chuseok bonus -- one of the two holiday bonuses -- with each amount calculated as 60 percent of their monthly salary, according to the regulations on civil servants’ allowances. For this year, they will receive 8.49 million won in total as holiday bonuses.

Rep. Kim Mi-ae of the ruling People Power Party expressed discomfort over the bonuses on Friday on social media. “I feel heavyhearted to receive hard-earned taxpayers’ money just because I am a lawmaker,” she said. Kim added that she plans to donate half of her bonus to those in need, according to media reports.

The opposition party also raised concern, with Kim Yeon-wook, a senior spokesperson for the minor opposition New Future Party, saying the news of Chuseok bonus for lawmakers is "disheartening" and that the legislators should give up their privileges and focus on working for the people.

"It feels as though the holiday is a festival just for lawmakers with taxpayer's money endlessly filling their pockets," said Kim in a written statement. "Lawmakers are getting paid regardless of proper legislative activities. They should focus on working for the people and let go of their privileges."

Meanwhile, a survey by job portal Incruit, conducted with 1,055 employees, revealed that 40.6 percent of South Korea's workers reported not receiving any Chuseok holiday bonus. Only 35.5 percent of respondents said they received a Chuseok holiday bonus, while 23.9 percent were unsure if they would receive one at the time of the survey, Sept. 3-4.

Among those who reported receiving a holiday bonus, the average amount was 838,000 won. When broken down by company size, large companies provided an average of 1.46 million won, public institutions and state-owned companies gave out bonuses averaging 1.21 million won, mid-sized companies gave out 743,000 won and small businesses offered an average of 526,000 won.