The annual salary for the newly elected lawmakers is expected to be around 138 million won ($118,000), the National Assembly said Monday.
According to the document published by the National Assembly secretariat, the scheduled annual payment is similar to that of the lawmakers of the 19th Assembly. The last time the government raised the salary was 2013 and the payment has remained the same since then.
Taking into account extra payment for business expenses such as the cost of running the office and supporting legislative work, the lawmakers’ salary amounts to 235 million won. Considering the payment given to his aides and staff, the total payment is estimated to be 676 million per year.
The six figure salary has often been singled out as extravagant privileges granted to the lawmakers. In a 2014 survey conducted by then main opposition Democratic United Party, more than 70 percent of respondents said that the lawmakers’ high income was “unnecessary” and that the salary should be reduced.
A 2014 analysis by the Korea Employment Information Service ranked members of the Assembly as holding the fourth highest-earning job. The lawmakers’ annual salary is lower than that of Cabinet ministers (156 million won), but higher than that of vice or deputy ministers (135 million won).
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Badges representing the status of lawmakers in South Korea. Yonhap |
