Employees with more than 30 years of service at South Korean companies now earn more than three times what new hires make, and the gap has widened over the past five years. Analysts say the finding shows that seniority-based pay remains firmly entrenched, and they argue that a shift toward job- and performance-based wages is urgent as the workforce ages and competition intensifies for talent in advanced industries.
An analysis by Seoul Economic Daily of the Ministry of Employment and Labor's Survey on Labor Conditions by Employment Type, released on the 8th, showed that workers with 30 years or more of service at businesses with 10 or more regular employees earned a total monthly wage of 8.522 million won in 2025. That was 3.08 times the 2.769 million won earned by employees with less than one year of service, the category corresponding to new hires. The ratio stood at 2.95 in 2020, crossing the threefold mark within five years.
The wage curve was also steeper than in other countries. Workers with 30 years or more of service earned 1.62 times a new hire's pay in Japan, 1.77 times in Germany and 1.61 times in Italy. Survey standards differ by country, but the figures indicate that seniority weighs relatively heavily in South Korea.
Experts say that leaving seniority-based pay unchanged could increase labor cost burdens and make hiring less flexible as the retirement age is extended and competition for talent in advanced industries picks up. "If the retirement age is extended while the seniority pay scale is kept in place, the burden on companies will grow and could actually block an extension of the retirement age," said Park Ji-soon, a professor at Korea University. "The wage system needs to be reorganized around jobs and performance."
