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Pay gap between regular, nonregular workers widens to largest in a decade: Labor Ministry

Published: 30 Apr. 2026, 18:16 Updated: 30 Apr. 2026, 18:23

Members of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union chant slogans in front of the Blue House in Jongno District, Seoul, during a press conference announcing the results of a survey on non-regular workers in the public sector on March 24. [YONHAP]

The wage gap between regular and nonregular workers in Korea widened last year to its largest level in a decade, government data showed Thursday.

The average hourly wage for all workers stood at 25,839 won ($19) as of June last year, up 2.7 percent from a year earlier, according to a survey on employment types released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

But the gains were uneven.

Hourly wages for regular workers rose 3.2 percent on year to 28,599 won, while those for nonregular workers — a category that includes temporary, part-time and contract employees — increased just 1.3 percent to 18,635 won.

As a result, nonregular workers earned the equivalent of 65.2 percent of regular workers’ wages, down 1.2 percentage points from the previous year, marking the widest gap between the two groups in 10 years.

Nonregular workers on average earned 70.9 percent of regular workers’ wages three years ago.

The ministry partially attributed the widening disparity to changes in the composition of the nonregular workforce, noting an increase in part-time workers, older employees, women and workers in the health and social welfare sectors.

Disparities were also evident in access to social insurance.

More than 94 percent of regular workers were enrolled in employment insurance, national health insurance and the national pension scheme, while enrollment rates ranged from 68 percent to 82 percent among nonregular workers.

Wage gaps were similarly pronounced by company size. Workers at firms with fewer than 300 employees earned just 57.3 percent of the wages paid at companies with 300 or more employees.

Gender disparities persisted as well.

Male workers earned an average of 29,411 won per hour, compared with 21,164 won for female workers, leaving women’s wages at 72 percent of men’s.

Unionization rates also reflected the divide. Overall union membership rose slightly to 10.2 percent last year, up 0.5 percentage points from a year earlier.

But while 13.7 percent of regular workers were unionized, the figure for nonregular workers stood at just 1.2 percent.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]