In the first half of 2023, wages for Korean workers increased by 3.1% compared to the same period last year. This was largely due to the increase in performance-based pay in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. In particular, wages in the electronics and communications industry, including semiconductors, rose by 23.1%, and special bonuses increased by 66.0%. On the other hand, the wage increase rate for businesses with fewer than 300 employees slowed to 2.1% compared to last year. The increase in special bonuses in the electronics and communications industry accounted for 32.4% of the total wage increase, indicating that the performance of the semiconductor industry had a significant impact on wage growth.
