Annual salaries of top 30 firms increase 2.6% in 2017

The average annual salary of employees at South Korea's top 30 listed companies grew in the mid-2 percent range in 2017, with the growth rate for women nearly twice that for men, market trackers said Friday.

The per-capita annual salary of the leading companies increased at an average rate of 2.6 percent last year from a year earlier, according to the job portals Job Korea and Albamon.

Female workers of the companies saw their annual salaries expand 3.4 percent last year from the previous year, much higher than the 1.8 percent increase for male employees.

The job portals reviewed the 2016 and 2017 business reports of 28 out of the country's top 30 listed companies by market capitalization.

Naver`s headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province (Yonhap)

Top portal operator Naver Corp. chalked up the highest on-year increase rate of 18.3 percent, or 12.75 million won ($11,800).

Samsung C&T Corp., the virtual holding company of top conglomerate Samsung Group, came next with 11.1 percent, followed by top oil refiner SK Innovation Co. with 9.9 percent, tech behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. with 9.3 percent and No. 3 oil refiner S-Oil Corp. with 9 percent.

Naver also registered the biggest growth rates for both male and female workers. The salary increase rate for Naver's male employees came to 19.8 percent, with the figure for female workers reaching 14.7 percent. (Yonhap)