Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence in Korea

Korea: Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence was 15.83 Percentage of full-time employment in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
15.83 Percentage of full-time employment
Change on year
down 1.6%
Rank
7th
of 9 groups
All-time high
26.04 Percentage of full-time employment
in 2007
All-time low
15.63 Percentage of full-time employment
in 2021
Years of data
35
1985–2025

Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence in Korea, 1985–2025

01020301985200520251985: 24.9 Percentage of full-time employment1992: 22.4 Percentage of full-time employment1993: 23.1 Percentage of full-time employment1994: 22.5 Percentage of full-time employment1995: 22.3 Percentage of full-time employment1996: 22.6 Percentage of full-time employment1997: 22.9 Percentage of full-time employment1998: 23.1 Percentage of full-time employment1999: 23.4 Percentage of full-time employment2000: 24.6 Percentage of full-time employment2001: 24.2 Percentage of full-time employment2002: 24.5 Percentage of full-time employment2003: 24.3 Percentage of full-time employment2004: 24.2 Percentage of full-time employment2005: 25.4 Percentage of full-time employment2006: 24.9 Percentage of full-time employment2007: 26 Percentage of full-time employment2008: 25.5 Percentage of full-time employment2009: 25 Percentage of full-time employment2010: 24.7 Percentage of full-time employment2011: 23.8 Percentage of full-time employment2012: 23.9 Percentage of full-time employment2013: 24.7 Percentage of full-time employment2014: 23.7 Percentage of full-time employment2015: 23.5 Percentage of full-time employment2016: 23.5 Percentage of full-time employment2017: 22.3 Percentage of full-time employment2018: 19 Percentage of full-time employment2019: 17 Percentage of full-time employment2020: 16 Percentage of full-time employment2021: 15.6 Percentage of full-time employment2022: 16.9 Percentage of full-time employment2023: 16.2 Percentage of full-time employment2024: 16.1 Percentage of full-time employment2025: 15.8 Percentage of full-time employment

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of full-time employment.

Analysis

Korea recorded 15.83 Percentage of full-time employment for incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.6% on the previous year and down 32.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence in Korea peaked at 26.04 Percentage of full-time employment in 2007 and was at its lowest, 15.63 Percentage of full-time employment, in 2021.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 24.88 Percentage of full-time employment 24.88 Percentage of full-time employment 24.88 Percentage of full-time employment 1
1990s 22.79 Percentage of full-time employment 22.26 Percentage of full-time employment 23.41 Percentage of full-time employment 8
2000s 24.86 Percentage of full-time employment 24.2 Percentage of full-time employment 26.04 Percentage of full-time employment 10
2010s 22.61 Percentage of full-time employment 16.96 Percentage of full-time employment 24.71 Percentage of full-time employment 10
2020s 16.11 Percentage of full-time employment 15.63 Percentage of full-time employment 16.94 Percentage of full-time employment 6

Countries ranked near Korea

  1. 4 United Kingdom 23.5 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  2. 5 United States 22.51 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  3. 6 Hungary 22.06 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  4. 7 Peru 21.25 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  5. 8 India 20.85 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  6. 9 Malta 19.91 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  7. 10 Canada 17.96 Percentage of full-time employment compare

See the full ranking of 48 places →

More reference data data for Korea

All data for Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence in Korea?
Incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence in Korea was 15.83 Percentage of full-time employment in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence recorded in Korea?
The highest recorded value was 26.04 Percentage of full-time employment in 2007.
What is the lowest incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence recorded in Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 15.63 Percentage of full-time employment in 2021.
How does Korea rank for incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence?
Korea ranks 7th out of 9 groups with data for 2025.
Is incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence rising or falling in Korea?
Over the last ten years it is down 32.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Korea data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence in Korea. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/incidence-of-low-and-high-pay-low-pay-incidence/korea/

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About this data

Indicator
Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence
Unit
Percentage of full-time employment
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
48 places, 904 data points, 1973–2025
Last refreshed

This dataset contains series on the incidence of low-paid workers defined as the share of full-time workers earning less than two-thirds of gross median earnings of all full-time workers; the incidence of high-paid workers defined as the share of full-time workers earning more than one-and-half time gross median earnings of all full-time workers.